The boy let his arm fall slowly to his side as he stepped towards Kagome. Without thinking, she reached out to pull his hood back to see his face, but Sakura stopped her by means of verbal inquiry.
"Kagome, who is this!" she cried. Kagome immediately dropped her hands, letting out a tiny, startled gasp as though she didn't expect the outburst.
However, before Kagome could answer, the boy spoke. "Sakura, you needn't be so angry. I am not going to harm Kagome."
Both girls' eyes grew wide; while Kagome looked blissful, though, Sakura only looked more furious. Kagome felt a gust of wind hit her head on, and at that instant, she let go of the hair she held in her hand. It was blown wildly by the wind down into the abyssal valley below the cliff; a memory to be forgotten sooner than remembered.
And at that moment, Kagome threw herself into the boy's arms. "Roxas, it /is/ you!"
"Yes. I'm just glad you can recall, Kagome…" He replied, wrapping his arms around her upper back—he was, after all, at least eleven inches taller than she.
Silenced by the moment, Sakura said not a single word. She only watched as the reunion between her kid sister and a total stranger played out similarly to the end of a sad movie. A pang of jealousy pulsed through her heart, but she confusedly pushed it away with the thought//I have Sasuke. Why should I be jealous/
When Roxas and Kagome finally split apart, he gazed down at her through the shadows cast on his eyes by the last rays of sunlight. Her eyes sparkled with tears, but not of joy; these were tears of sorrow, threatening to spill the moment she closed her eyes. And they did, when she blinked, and Daisuke brushed them away with a gentle finger as he said, "I'm sorry, Kagome. I have to go."
She acted like she knew it was coming. Shaking her head, she pleaded silently with her eyes. When that didn't work, her body heaved with a sob and she whispered, "Please… don't leave me… not now."
Roxas stroked Kagome's hair and leaned close to her so that he could reply as quietly as she had spoken a moment ago. Sakura was unable to hear what he said, as was his intention, and when he stood straight once more, she found her fists clenched. /Dammit. I must know this guy… Maybe he grew up at our orphanage./
"I have to," said Roxas solemnly. "But I promise—I /vow/ that I will return for you. Just… wait a little longer. Now that your illusions are gone, I know it will be harder, but trust me; have I ever lied to you?"
This brought a heartbreaking look to Kagome's face. Her eyes were like shimmering pools of chocolate that had been left in the sun for too long, bent out of shape and swimming in disappointment. However, her mouth had been twisted into a smile, and this miserable smile of hers was enough to draw tears from even Sakura.
Kagome was unable to speak. Roxas murmured three short words before he vanished in the same cyclone of white feathers, leaving Kagome to stare into nothingness once more and speak softly, "I love you, too."