Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Author's note: Thank you to the reviewers! Those reviews are very special to me! Okay, a new chapter, I hope you enjoy!

The Obscure Truth

Chapter 3

The Girl in the Forest

A girl with long black hair was sitting under a tree. She seemed very lonely sitting there by herself in the forest; no one could be seen anywhere. She was wearing a green kimono with white flowers as the patterns of the kimono. Bow and arrows were lying next to her feet. Her dark brown eyes were fixed at a spot on the green grass, but her eyes were not focused. She was thinking about what she saw four days ago in the forest. The scene she saw stung her eyes, and tears formed in her big eyes.

'I have decided to live here, in this era, the feudal era, so that I can be with you. I thought you finally saw who is the most important person to you… but I guess I was wrong. After all we've been through together, after Naraku was defeated, and after you told me the person you love is me, you still couldn't forget her… Is my decision to stay here wrong?' The girl questioned her decision she had made in the past. Then, the tears slowly slid down her cheeks as she remembered the bitter scene four days ago…

-

(Flashback)

The young priest dressed in white shirt and red pants, with her hair tied up in the back of her head stumbled a bit as she approached her village. She was now in the forest, surrounded by the green trees and fresh air. Her black eyes searched in the forest for the man she desperately needed to see, or she might not have another chance again.

Behind a tree, a man with white hair and dog ears were taking a nap. He had a girl sitting next to him, resting her head on his shoulder. She was the same girl sitting in the forest alone four days later. Suddenly, she awoke. She seemed to hear footsteps approaching them. "Inuyasha…" she called and shook the half demon with the dog ears beside her. But he seemed to be in a deep sleep, and he didn't hear her. She stood up, wondered into the forest nearby, trying to see who might be approaching her. After five minutes, she didn't find anyone or any creature. "Maybe it was just my imagination…" She thought happily. When she was almost back to Inuyasha, she suddenly saw him hugging another woman! She immediately hid behind a tree, shocked!

She gasped. She opened her mouth and she quickly raised her hands to cover her mouths, so that no sound would come out. Her eyes were now wide open, not only shocked, but also hurt. That woman was priest Kikyou! Inuyasha had admitted to her that he loved Kikyou more than he loved her. But she thought all that had changed. Along their journey, Inuyasha had been through so many hardships together with her. He had rescued her many times. He was also jealous when Kouga wanted her to be his woman. After they finally defeated Naraku, Inuyasha told her that he realized the woman he loves was her, not Kikyou. He had promised to be with her and protect her for all eternity. But… he was embracing that priest right now! Why?

She didn't hear what they were saying as tears swelled up in her eyes. She felt that the air around her was thinning until she almost couldn't breathe. She shook her head slightly, not wanting to believe what she saw.

'This can't be happening! Kikyou disappeared after Naraku was defeated! We all thought she died… well, she wasn't human to begin with, but… Why is she here? No, she can't be here to take Inuyasha away from me… I won't allow that! I had decided to stay here so that I can be with Inuyasha. I gave up my life in the future where technologies are much better. I left my families, even though I can always go back and visit them; it's no big deal… But I sacrificed a lot to be with Inuyasha…' She started crying. In order to prevent being discovered behind the tree, she started running away. She needed some time alone, to think and clear up her head. She'll come back later and she must talk to Inuyasha when she's calmer. Otherwise, they'll just end up fighting again…

(End of flashback)

-

When she got back to the same spot one hour later, Inuyasha and Kikyou were gone. She stayed up there waiting for Inuyasha for the whole day, until Sango and Miroku came looking for them at night. But they couldn't find Inuyasha anywhere. No traces of Kikyou too. Inuyasha had been gone for four days now.

'Where is Inuyasha? Why did he just disappear like that? I was with him that day before Kikyou came. The least he can do is inform me he needs to go somewhere! Doesn't he know I will be worry about him?' She thought bitterly.

She had been sitting here everyday for four days. Perhaps Inuyasha will come back here and find her since the last place he was at was here with her. She came here from morning until night. Every morning, she came with hope, hope of seeing him today, but every night she went back to the village disappointed. This was the fourth morning.

Another woman walked slowly towards her. That woman wore a magenta kimono. She held a white cat-like animal in her arms. That animal was Kilala, and it could turn into a giant lion-like creature for others to ride on. She approached the girl under the tree and called out to her. "Kagome…"

Kagome turned her head, not surprise to see Sango. "Sango…" Sango had been here with her for the past two days. She said that she was worried, so she wanted to accompany Kagome. Kagome was glad to have a close friend beside her.

"Kagome… waiting for Inuyasha to come back again?" Sango asked. Even though she knew the answer, she couldn't help but to ask again. Sango sat down beside Kagome, slightly shaking her head. 'Poor Kagome… Where is that Inuyasha?' Sango thought. 'How could he leave her like this?' She sighed and tried to think of how to start the conversation. "Kagome… you've been up here for three days already! It's not that save in the forest, there may be demons here. Come back to the village, I'm sure Inuyasha will go find you first when he comes back." Sango tried to convince Kagome.

"But Sango, I want to be here…" Kagome lowered her head. She knew what Sango said was true, but she wanted to wait for him to come back. She bit her lower lips and tried to hold back her tears. "I can protect myself. Look! I brought my bow and arrows with me everyday!" She tried to sound as cheerful as she could, but her voice was not normal. Sango noticed the tears in Kagome's eyes. She knew that Kagome must be feeling very bad. Kagome had told her and Miroku about what she saw in the forest four days ago. Sango gritted her teeth and thought 'Kikyou!' She never really liked Kikyou in the first place, and now Kikyou caused Kagome to be upset.

"Kagome… If you'll feel better after crying, don't try to hold your tears back anymore. Aren't we best friends in the world?" Sango wanted to comfort Kagome, since she knew that Kagome was not going to go back to the village until Inuyasha comes back.

"S-sango… Thanks…" Kagome put her hands on her face and started crying. She really needed some ways to release the sorrow and pressure she had been feeling for the past few days. Sango patted Kagome's back to soothe her.

After Kagome finished crying, she felt much better. Suddenly, a moan could be heard from behind the bush. Kagome and Sango jumped out of fear. "Did you hear that, Sango?" Kagome said with a trembling voice. Her expression on her face was similar to the expression of seeing a ghost. Sango held onto Kagome's arm and answered, "Y-yeah… w-what do you think i-it might be…?"

"Let's… f-find o-out…" Kagome picked up the bow and arrows on the grass and started walking toward the bush that the sound seemed to be from. They approached carefully, afraid to find some demons or even ghost, if it exists, behind the bush. Sango reached her trembling hand towards the bush and pushed apart the leaves. Their eyes widened when they saw a young girl lying on her belly on the grass. They couldn't see her face.

Kagome slowly turned her over and they both gasped. "Oh my… poor girl!" She exclaimed. The girl was wearing a white kimono, but there were small patches of blood on several parts of her body. There were scratches on her hands and one on her face. Those scratches seemed to be made by some kinds of claws. Her hair was all messy and she was no unconscious. "Why is she here? What happened to her?" Kagome's eyes became watery for sympathy for the girl. She looked so beautiful, why could something so horrible happened to her?

"Kagome… isn't she a bit familiar? But I can't remember where have I seen her before…" Sango thought. Kagome observed the pretty face of the young girl and nodded in agreement. "Now that you mentioned it, she does seem familiar… Hey! What are we doing here? We need to help her!" Kagome yelled.

"Right!" Sango slapped her forehead and put Kilala to the ground. "Kilala!" At Sango's call, Kilala transformed into the white lion-like creature. Sango and Kagome picked the injured girl from the grass and put her onto Kilala. Then, Sango got onto Kilala and flew back to the village first. Kagome ran back to the village. By now, she had forgotten about Inuyasha leaving her. All she remembered was the poor wounded girl who needed help.

'That poor, poor girl! Who would do such a thing?' She rushed back to the village with worry…

Inuyasha was walking in the forest. He found himself in the forest really far away from Inuyasha forest. He had a giant headache right now. He raised his right hand and rubbed his forehead. "Damn! How did I get this headache? And why was I so far away from the village? What day is today? How did I get here?" He wondered out loud. He had no idea what happened to him for several days. He judged that he was probably out for several days because he was extremely hungry right now.

Grrr… His stomach growled in protest of being empty for several days. Inuyasha decided to speed up his paste and get back to the village for lunch. "Kagome and the others must be worried!" He blurted out loudly. "The good thing is, Tetsusaiga is still here. Good thing that no one stole it." He jumped up to the top of the trees and started rushing back to the village.

As he was leaping from tree to tree, he started reviewing what was the last thing he remembered. He remembered sitting under a tree with Kagome. They were walking together in the forest and decided to rest for a while. Then, he probably falls asleep. He remembered vaguely that Kagome had her head positioned on his shoulder while he took a nap. Then, he was awaked by some noise. By then, Kagome was no where to be found. Just when he was about to go find her, a shadow appeared in front of him…

-

(Flashback)

Kikyou appeared in front of him. Her face was very pale. She looked at him with a pair of sorrowful black eyes. There was still some hatred in her eyes. He was shocked to see her so suddenly. She was gone after they defeated Naraku. Kikyou just stood there, watching him. The time seemed to freeze around them. All he could see was her. He was so focused on her that he didn't sense or smell Kagome approaching.

"I'm here to ask you one last time, Inuyasha." Kikyou opened her mouth. "Will you come with me? I will forgive you if you come with me. I will condone your betrayal when you tried to steal the shikon jewel from me." Her eyes were still fixed on him.

"I..." Inuyasha's golden eyes faltered. Who does he really love? He knew he loved Kagome with all his heart, but he still had feelings for Kikyou. What should he do? "But you knew that we were set up by Naraku… why did you still say that?"

"Does it matter now? Are you really going to choose her instead of me?" She questioned him. The hatred in her eyes grew stronger. She didn't want Inuyasha to choose Kagome. She loved him deeply too. If it weren't Kagome, Inuyasha would go with her. Kagome doesn't even belong in this time period!

Inuyasha lowered his golden eyes. In his mind, he saw Kagome's cheerful and innocent smile. He was really happy when Kagome was around her. She was the one who changed how he felt about the world. He no longer ashamed of being half-breed and no longer despised human. But on the other hand, Kikyou was his first love. She died and he pitied her. But was pity really love?

"Inuyasha, please, come with me…" Kikyou pleaded. "I'm… dying… the spell for me to live seemed to be eroding for a long time…" She whispered. Her eyes were full of sorrow. She held out her hands to him, hoping that he will take her hand.

"Kikyou…" Inuyasha looked up at her. His heart was hurting for the news of her dying soon. He walked toward her and hugged her. He was sad that she was going to die soon. He wanted to hug her once more. But he didn't know that Kagome saw this…

"Does it mean… you'll come with me?" Kikyou whispered. A smile of triumph and satisfaction appeared on her face. She would die satisfied if Inuyasha was going to be with her. But to her surprise, Inuyasha suddenly pushed her away gently. He shook his head and apologized. "Sorry Kikyou. But I realized that the person I really love is not you. It is Kagome. I feel sorry for you, but that is only pity. Please forgive me, but I cannot return your love." His golden eyes showed pity towards her, but not love. Kikyou couldn't find her reflection in his eyes. "I see…" Hatred seemed to grew in her eyes…

(End of flashback)

-

"Then what happened?" Inuyasha pondered. But his head started hurting the instance he tried to remember. "Argh! Then what? Why can't I remember?" He growled in frustration. The village was in sight now. He leaped toward another tree and threw the questions into the back of his mind. What he needed now was food! He could think about other things later.

The room had a tense mood in it. Everyone had a serious and worried face. Sango and Kagome were cleaning up the wounds on the girl's body. Kagome took out some white bandages and started wrapping the girl's wounds. Miroku were facing the other direction. He was not allowed to turn his head to the direction of the injured girl. Shippou was now older, he was also forced to look at the other direction. It was good enough to allowed them in the room instead of kicking them out of the room.

"Done." Kagome and Sango announced together. They sighed in relief. Miroku and Shippou turned around and walked toward the girl. Miroku was staring at the girl's beautiful face, while Sango was fuming about it. "Miroku!" Sango yelled. Just when she was about to slap him in the face for being perverted again, he caught her wrist.

"Relax, Sango. I was just thinking, have we seen her somewhere? I'm pretty sure we had seen her in the past. She looked so familiar, yet we probably didn't know her that well…" He concluded. Sango lowered her hand and nodded her head. "You think so too? That was what I told Kagome when we found her!" She smiled, happy to know Miroku and her think alike.

"Hey, I've seen her before! But… where?" Shippou yelled. Miroku rolled his eyes at Shippou's comments. He knew that already. They must have seen her somewhere. Just when everyone was thinking really hard about the familiar young girl, the door was being pushed open.

Inuyasha rushed into the room and stopped beside Kagome. He was extremely hungry right now. "Finally! Hi Kagome! Can you make me some food, I'm really hungry. I didn't eat for days, I think." He reached out his hand and tried to grab Kagome's hand, but to his surprise, Kagome jumped behind Miroku and stared angrily at Inuyasha. "What's wrong?" Inuyasha turned his face and observed everyone in the room. Everyone had a disapproving face and was looking at him angrily.

Inuyasha took a closer look at Kagome's eyes, he was slightly shocked as he caught the tears in her eyes. She quickly lowered her eyes to avert eye contacts with him. He tried to approach Kagome and ask her what's wrong, but he suddenly tensed up. His golden eyes turned keen and alert, as if danger was around the corner. He reached for Tetsusaiga on his side and ready to pull it out of the sheath.

"Sesshoumaru!" He whispered. He looked around the room and saw the injured girl on the bed. He pulled out the sword and it turned from a crooked sword into a big and strong sword. "I smell Sesshoumaru!" He yelled and was about to rush toward the girl when Miroku held him back. "Let go of me!" Inuyasha yelled angrily.

"Stop it, Inuyasha! What do you think you are doing? Sesshoumaru is not here!" Kagome yelled. But he didn't seem to hear her. His eyes were turning red, as if a hated demon or his biggest enemy was in front of him and he must slay the enemy. "Sit boy!" Kagome said. Inuyasha immediately fell face flat on the ground.

Sango rushed to the side of the injured girl to protect her. Kilala also turned into its bigger form, standing beside its master. Inuyasha stood up angrily. He put the sword back into the sheath and demanded to know what was going on around here. "What was that for, Kagome?" He directed his anger to Kagome. "And what the hell is going on here? I'm positive that girl over there had the scent of Sesshoumaru! Why is she here, huh? She could be dangerous, you know?"

"Calm down, Inuyasha. She was hurt in the forest. Kagome and Sango found her, so they took her back to heal her." Miroku answered calmly. Then, an idea struck them all, except Inuyasha, who didn't even took a closer look at the girl. He was still gritting his teeth for smelling the scent of Sesshoumaru. He didn't like his half-brother, who always tried to steal Tetsusaiga away from him and always tried to fight and kill him.

"I know who she is!" Shippou exclaimed. "Me too!" Sango said. "She's Rin!" Kagome said. "Yes!" Miroku nodded his head. Only Inuyasha was confused about what they were talking about. "Huh? Rin? Who's that?" He had a bad memory when it comes to the name of someone he didn't care about. He looked at the young girl and walked towards her. He observed her and his eyes widened. "Oh! Rin! That little girl we saw when she was captured by Naraku! Sesshoumaru even came to save her!" Inuyasha finally remembered.

"Right! My brother Kohaku was there too!" Sango exclaimed. "Wow, she had grown up already! Time passes so fast…" Sango looked at the girl, amazed at how fast time passed. Rin was still a little girl when they saw her. Now she was a beautiful young lady!

"That will explain Sesshoumaru's scent on her as well. She lived with him, didn't she? Rumors have it that Sesshoumaru treated her differently, and he despised human, remember? Sesshoumaru was also the one who saved her life." Miroku informed the gang.

"Yeah… but why would she be abandoned in the forest? I heard rumors that Sesshoumaru doesn't even allow others, demon or human, to approach her. It would seem like he's protecting her somehow." Sango questioned. She lowered her head and started thinking for a logical explanation of Rin in the forest, hurt.

"Hmph, like my heartless half-brother Sesshoumaru was going to protect her. It would be lucky enough for her to keep her life being around him." Inuyasha snorted. He didn't believe all those rumors. "Maybe she was a slave in his castle. He probably abused her to death and then abandoned her in the forest." His explanation earned him several pairs of death glares. Even though they didn't like Sesshoumaru, but it was true that he went to save her from Naraku.

"We'll find out when she wakes up." Kagome concluded. She started cleaning up the bandages and water they used to clean the wounds. Sango stood up and helped her out. "Let's go out. Rin needs some rest." Kagome reminded them. It wasn't good to be discussing something in the room, they'll disturb Rin.

"Right…" They all nodded their heads in agreement and stood up. When Inuyasha went out of the room, he was the last one, he caught up to Kagome. "Hey Kagome. I'm really hungry. Won't you be so kind to make me some food? Please?" He pleaded. But the answer he got shocked him. He stood there, unable to move an inch. Kagome had said, "Hmph! Get it yourself!" She didn't even bother looking at him. The others just smiled evilly at Inuyasha's stun expression.

"Hey! What did I do to you?" He protested, but Kagome went into her room and banged the door loudly, ignoring Inuyasha completely. "What's her problem?" He raised one eyebrow, confused. He scratched his head and sighed. They had some small fights sometimes, but this time Kagome seemed really upset and angry about something. But what did he do to her? Several days ago, she was still sitting under the tree peacefully with him. 'Something must have happened this few days. Why don't I remember what happened to me in the past few days? I better find out soon, then I'll know why Kagome is so mad at me…' Inuyasha thought. Then, he walked out of the wooden house and decided to go to the forest to think alone.

Author's notes: That's it for this chapter. We met Inuyasha and the gang in this chapter, yay! So, how's the story so far? We'll find out what happen to Rin later, but not too fast. Rin will awake in the next chapter, and her reactions will be shocking. Okay, please review! I'm begging the readers for some feedbacks! Thank you!