Kagome awoke to the steady rhythm of the waterfall. At first she didn't know where she was, and was surprised to see Koga sleeping beside her. It first dawned on her when she looked down and saw her naked breasts exposed to the chilly morning air. At first, she panicked and couldn't think about anything accept the fact that she had given herself to Koga. She regained enough composure to grab a towel out of her backpack and wrap it around her naked form. She slowly began to recall the events of the night before. Her fight with Inuyasha had caused her to storm off angry. When she thought about it, Kagome realized that she was the one who had really started the fight. Inuyasha was just jealous and he didn't want to share her with anybody else.

Kagome suddenly felt guilty. Not only had she hurt Inuyasha, but she would break Koga's heart as well. Tears welled up in her eyes. What would she do now? Would Inuyasha accept her now that she had slept with Koga?

"No of course he wouldn't," Kagome said aloud, "He's not exactly the type to forgive."

Koga stirred beside her and Kagome fell silent. What if she didn't tell him? What if she kept it a secret and Inuyasha didn't find out? Maybe if she played it cool, he wouldn't notice. It was worth a shot. What was the worst that could happen?

Kagome decided to take a bath in order to wash Koga's scent off of her. Inuyasha would be sure to notice, so she searched through her backpack (she had dropped it at the foot of the cave) until she found some frilly smelling soap and shampoo. Inuyasha liked the smell of lavender so Kagome was sure he wouldn't smell Koga's scent over the lavender soap. The shampoo was the scent of vanilla and together with the soap made an aroma that was soothing, yet intoxicating. Beautiful but deadly, thought Kagome as she walked through the sheet of water that covered the entrance to the cave. There was a pool at the foot of the waterfall. Kagome walked down the jagged path to the waters edge. She was already naked so she immediately eased herself into the water. The Polar Bear Plunge, she thought when the water was past her hips. When it reached her naval she took a deep breath and submerged herself. It wasn't so bad after awhile when she was used to the water.

When she had bathed and was halfway through washing her hair, Kagome felt someone watching her. She turned to look at the waterfall and saw Koga watching her. She was suddenly embarrassed that she was naked. How can I be embarrassed to be naked in front of Koga when I made love with him just a few hours ago? thought Kagome. When he didn't move from where he was observing her, Kagome decided to ignore him until she was finished bathing. It was hard though. She was afraid to be undressed in front of her mother. I'm pathetic, thought Kagome. Inuyasha didn't have that kind of shame. He once waltzed right into her room with nothing on, shouting at the top of his lungs. It made her more comfortable to think about it.

When she was finished, Kagome wrapped the towel around her and gathered her things. As she made her way back to the cave, she thought about what she would tell Koga. She knew that she couldn't stay. She would be living a lie, pretending to be happy here. And what if Inuyasha came looking for her? Koga would protect her but Inuyasha could kill Koga if his demon blood acted up, and Kagome didn't know if she could "sit" him back to normal this time. She had no choice but to go back. As she approached the cave, Kagome saw Koga at the caves' entrance, holding her clothes. He was dressed as well, the same way he was before last night. It's like he didn't change at all, thought Kagome.

"I thought you might need these," he said, handing Kagome her clothes.

"Thank you."

Kagome couldn't bring herself to look at him. There she was about to break his heart, and nothing in the world would be able to ease his hurt. I might as well pierce his heart with a sacred arrow for all pain I'm going to cause him, thought Kagome miserably. She knew there was no way around it, but to tell Koga that she loved Inuyasha and that she had to go back. It would be better this way.

Unexpectedly, Kagome felt a clawed finger underneath her chin. It lifted her head until she was staring into Koga's beautiful blue eyes. Koga sighed and smiled at her in a fatherly way. "Kagome," he said, "You have to go back. You know and I know it, and I apologize. I knew that you'd regret last night and yet I still went through with it." He paused, expecting Kagome to say something. He sighed again and said, "I hope you can forgive me."

"I don't regret anything that happened between us Koga," replied Kagome, trying to make the wolf demon feel better.

Koga dropped his gaze. "You're not fooling anyone Kagome," he said, "You're not happy here. You could never be truly happy here." He looked up again and saw that Kagome had again ceased to look at him. "I'm not going to be the one responsible for taking away your happiness."

"But what about you?" asked Kagome, looking up again.

Koga was silent for awhile. "I guess I'll try to find Ayame," he said looking at the distant mountains. Kagome didn't say anything but she was happy that Koga was going to look for Ayame. Some of her guilt was lifted knowing that Koga had someone to go to. She truly thought that they were meant for each other, just like her and Inuyasha. She worried though, because if Koga was ready to move on, would he keep her secret? Koga must have read the uneasiness in her expression, because he smiled and said, "Hey, don't worry about it. That memory of you and me together is a golden bell hung in my heart. I would break my body to pieces before telling anyone what happened between us." He said it so zealously that Kagome was feeling hesitant to leave.

"I'm sorry Koga," she said.

"Don't be," he said, his voice growing soft, "Besides, you have no future here with me. Your future is with Inuyasha." Kagome nodded and went to change into her clothes. Koga stayed outside while she dressed and it wasn't until she was brushing her hair when he came in.

"Kagome I have a gift for you," he said, holding a gorgeous wooden box in his hands. He opened it to reveal a beautiful, white pearl comb. It had pearl flower in corner of the comb that almost looked real. Seafoam blues and greens accented the clean white, pearl. "It was my mothers," said Koga, "It's the only thing of hers I have left." Kagome held the comb up to the sunlight. The light shone off it like moonlight.

"It's beautiful," whispered Kagome.

"Just like you," said Koga. Whether it was intentionally or not, Kagome didn't know.

"I can't accept this Koga," said Kagome pushing it back to him.

"Take it," he said, "Take it an remember me." Koga placed it in her hair and Kagome looked into a puddle of water on the cave floor. She knew that she had nothing to give him in return.

"Thank you Koga," she said smiling.

"You're welcome," he said, also smiling.