A/N: 200 Reviews! Just…300 more, and I beat my record! Thank you, everyone who reviews! And for the rest of you… Glares

Chapter 19: Harsh Reality

Shippou leaned up against the bone eaters well, looking inside and sighing. The interior of the well looked so dark, so sad…the kitsune wondered what kind of world would exist inside of that well. It didn't seem like it would be a happy place. "When's Kagome coming back?" he wondered.

"I don't know, Shippou-chan." Sango replied, who was sitting on the grass near the well, Miroku beside her. They both held grave looks. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, but they did not feel its warmpth.

"But I want her to come back!" he protested. "I don't like it when she's gone!"

The monk sighed. "I know, but I don't think Kagome-sama is going to come back for a while. She's been through a lot."

Shippou, looking like he was ready to cry, turned around fiercely, his hands clenched into fists. "Why did Inuyasha have to be like that anyway? Now Kagome won't come back! Why did this have to happen?"

Sango's eyes were cast downward, as she petted the sleeping Kirara in her lap. "It can't be helped Shippou-chan. Sometimes these things happen. They're terrible, but you could have never seen them coming, and you couldn't have stopped them." She couldn't help but think, Just like Kohaku…

The youkai exterminator looked back up at the clear blue sky. "But you can't really blame either of them, I suppose…"

Miroku piped up, "Being a man, I can understand Inuyasha's impulsion. He loved Kagome-sama, and he wanted to spend his life with her…But he wasn't strong enough to resist the pull of worldly desires. I don't know of anyone who is."

"And because Kagome-chan loved him, she couldn't resist him either." Sango replied, casting a subtle, sideways glance at Miroku. "If a girl loves someone enough, all reason is put aside. We can't say 'no' without feeling heartbreak." She noticed that the monk was staring at her. "Don't get any ideas." She reminded him.

"Of course not!" he replied at once, looking away sharply.

A pause filled their conversation. "But, Houshi-sama," Sango began. "I'm worried. Kagome-chan is gone, and Inuyasha is…" She was unable to finish that sentence. "We don't know what will happen…" she said with a tremble.

Miroku, who noticed her distress, leaned over and draped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, the only comfort she had now, whispering "Houshi-sama…"

"It'll be all right, Sango." He assured her, in a sweet voice. "We'll make it through this, I promise you."

Shippou, who hadn't been listening to their conversation, and had instead stared back down into the dark depths of the well, asked, "Is there any way we can turn Inuyasha back to normal?"

Sango replied, sadness in her brown eyes, "No one knows, Shippou-chan."

"I just want to see Kagome happy again." The kitsune replied, in a small voice.

"We all do." Miroku said, his eyes glancing on the well.

"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, his amber eyes twinkling with love. "I love you."

Inuyasha.

His continued his words of love, Kagome's heart pounding, unable to resist the power of his words. "Please, Kagome…will you be my mate?"

Inuyasha…

His strong arms wrapped around her, holding her close, always keeping her safe. "Kagome," he reassured her, in a soft, loving voice, "I won't ever leave you. I promise."

Inuyasha!

Inuyasha's eyes flared red, his claws raised, as he growled in a deep voice, "Die."

Kagome gasped as she woke with a start. She panted from the shock of the dream, her mind seeing clearly the image of youkai Inuyasha as if he was right in front of her.

Inuyasha…

She sat up looked glanced around her room. The sunlight blazed through the window, illuminating the bedroom. She was still in her green and white school uniform, the outfit she wore the day before, and her pillow was stained with tears as she had cried herself to sleep. Inuyasha's haori was still in her arms; she had held it all night long.

Her heart sank even deeper into her chest when she realized that only the morning before, she had woken up lying on the blanket in the clearing, wondering where Inuyasha had gone.

She closed her eyes once more, burying her face in his haori, trying to stem the impending flow of tears. Inuyasha…

Kagome heard her door open, and she turned around sharply. Her mother, a sympathetic look on her face, walked into her room with a tray of breakfast. "I thought you might want something to eat." She said, putting the tray on Kagome's nightstand.

Kagome's eyes, which were usually lit up in happiness, looked expressionlessly on the tray of food. "I'm not hungry." She replied, softly.

Her mother watched her daughter, as she turned back to look down at the red cloth she was holding. A week ago, she had left happily with Inuyasha, whom everyone could tell were finally an item. She hadn't seen Kagome happier. Now, sheknew her daughter was in incredible pain. She felt an even deeper pang in her chest when she recognized the red cloth as Inuyasha's haori.

"Kagome," she said, kneeling beside the bed. "Did something happen?"

Gripping the haori tighter, a tear welled up in Kagome's chocolate eyes. "I don't want to talk about it, Mama." She turned away from her mother, feeling like she didn't deserve her kind words.

Mrs. Higurashi placed a hand over Kagome's giving her support. "Kagome, I know you may not want to talk about it, but sometimes it helps to get it out to someone else."

"And sometimes it doesn't." She replied, blinking the tear away.

"I know you don't want to tell me." her mother said, understanding. "I know its painful already thinking about it, but please, Kagome. I want to know what happened…I need to know. I can't stand seeing you this way. I want my daughter back to the way she was."

Kagome hadn't imagined telling her mother about what she and Inuyasha had done like this. She had imagined that Inuyasha would come to her and tell her that they had gotten "married", and that he would always take care of her...Both of them promising to always love, honor, and cherish, and that sort of thing…But that was before Kagome had learned of the consequences of that night.

Kagome slowly turned back to look at her mother, her eyes then lowering to the floor. "Mama…please don't say anything, until I'm finished…It's already hard enough."

Kagome told her mother everything, starting with how Kikyou said Inuyasha's feelings for her were dangerous. In the beginning, she spoke in monotone, her eyes the only indication of the pain. But as she told of the happy times she had when her and Inuyasha were together, Mrs. Higurashi noticed that she gripped his haori tighter, more tears forming in her eyes. The first tears came when she told her mother of the dream she hadwhen she thoughtshe heard Inuyasha dying.

She started fully crying when she had to tell her mother of how Inuyasha, only two nights ago, asked her to be his mate. Her mother was shocked about what happened, but said nothing, as Kagome sobbed on, repeating "I'm sorry…" over and over as she finished her story at how she saw her lover again, but this time in his youkai form.

By the time the story was finished, she had collapsed on the bed, crying hysterically into the haori, unable to stop. Between sobs, she'd murmur "I'm sorry." and "It's all my fault."

Keeping her promise, her mother had said nothing during the whole tale, but she couldn't say she wasn't disappointed in her daughter for the choices she had made. But, once being a fifteen year old girl in love, she could understand. She placed a hand on Kagome's back. "Kagome." She said, trying to calm her down.

Kagome looked back at her, tears streaming down her face, unable to stop. "Are you angry with me, Mama?"

Her mother shook her head. "No, Kagome, I'm not angry. I'm disappointed, yes, I would have thought you might have spoken to me before pursuing this kind of relationship with him. But," she said, sitting on the bed while Kagome pulled herself into a sitting position next to her. "You loved him, Kagome. And he loved you. You got—mated, was it?—because you loved each other. There's no shame in that."

Kagome took a shaky breath while she thought over the things her mother said. She wiped her eyes, willing herself to stop crying.

Though Mrs. Higurashi was trying to be understanding, she couldn't help but have her motherly displeasure rise to the surface. "Did you use protection?" she asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

Kagome turned sharply away, feeling her heart sink deeper at knowing her mother's disappointment. "We didn't have any." She confessed, in a small voice. "I mean…we didn't expect…we didn't think that…" She was unable to complete any sentence justifying her actions.

Her mother only replied, "I see." in a breath. She too, looked away.

Kagome's heart sank even lower imagining what her mother thought of her. She turned back to her mother. "B-but, Mama, I know I'm not—"

"It's all right, Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi replied, looking at her daughter. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not angry. I know what it's like to be fifteen and in love. I know it seems like you're unable to resist. Kagome, you loved each other. You could not have known what would happen."

At hearing those words, Kagome's tears came back again. "It's my fault, isn't it? I was the one that made him that way…All because I couldn't resist—"

Her mother shook her head. "No, Kagome, it's not your fault. I never thought it was your fault."

"But it is!" she cried. "If I hadn't been so stupid as to say 'yes', then he might not have…might not have…" She once again buried her face in Inuyasha's haori. Right now, I want to run into Inuyasha's arms, and let him protect me…she thought. And, I keep having to remind myself that he's not there for me, anymore…He's not himself anymore…

Her mother wrapped an arm around Kagome, and pulled her into a mother's embrace. "Kagome, it was no one's fault. Neither of you knew about it, so neither of you could prevent it. It happened, but it wasn't something either of you could control. I promise you, it wasn't your fault."

"But Inuyasha's gone…" Kagome cried on, her mother comforting her as she spilled out in tears the worst pain she had ever felt. "Inuyasha's gone…and he's never going to come back…"

Inuyasha slashed a tree trunk in his frustration, making a deep gouge into its wood. Damn that girl! He thought, his teeth clenching. Why couldn't I kill her?

He remembered meeting Kagome again in the village. The minute he saw her, he could smell his scent upon her once again. Seeing her again made his heart do an unnatural flip-flop, making him want nothing more but to take her up in his arms once more, rather than let his claws taste her fresh blood.

The minute he saw her, a memory came up in his mind. Of seeing this girl, naked before him, lying on top of a blanket, her eyes closed, crying "Inuyasha!" He growled at that memory, and the mysterious longing he had for her that went along with it.

But, it was no more a mystery as to those strange feelings. When he had attacked her, a straight scar on her left hand caught his attention. When her left hand had grazed his right, he felt a jolt of electricity, feeling those foolish, human emotions rise up in him once again.

He knew that he must have mated with her before.

Inuyasha clenched his right fist, his red eyes igniting in anger. Of all the females to mate with, he had picked a human? Why would he ever consider a human to be potential of his mate was far beyond his capacity to understand. It made no sense to him. She was a human, and he was a youkai. Youkai are superior to humans; they kill them.

But, no matter how much he loathed his former self for this, no matter how much he didn't understand, he couldn't kill this girl. He could never kill the girl. And not just because he might have felt something for her before, but also because she was his mate…and youkai or no, you couldn't kill your mate.

What was the wench's name anyway? He asked himself, as he tried to remember, sitting by a stream in the middle of a forest.

He remembered, that when he had attacked her, her human friends had called a name…starting with a K…He glared as he recalled it. Kagome!

With the name coming to his mind, he remembered something. His eyes glanced over at the slowly flowing water. On the surface, as if a reflection, he saw Kagome. Her black hair swaying in the wind, her brown eyes sparkling with love. A smile was on her beautiful face, she was the very picture of perfection. She murmured, "Inuyasha…" her voice silencing his angry thought for a moment.

But only for a moment. He slashed at the water with his inch long claws, dissolving the vision, and stood up indignantly. No matter what I can or can't do to her, I won't let her get away with this!

You just wait, you Kagome, because soon, I'll come back for you…

A/N: I feel SO sorry for Kagome in this chapter…I mean, having to explain to your mom what you did with your boyfriend? That's gotta not be fun. At least her mom was sorta understanding. (My mom would kill me…)