Sorry for the delay, I kind of had a problem uploading the chapter on Friday or else I would've gotten it to you sooner. Okay, well, here it is, Part two of the longest darn thing I have ever written. Yeah, believe it or not, this is the first full length story I have ever succeeded in making full length. . . All of the others kind of didn't make it. Well anyway, here's my twelvth chapter so read and enjoy and as always, review!

Mayu Kitsune

SORROWFUL SOUL PART II

A Reminder and an Unexpected Feeling

"Isn't she done cryin' yet?" Inuyasha asked in an exasperated tone.

It had been days now, nearly a week since the battle at Naraku's castle and Moyuru had yet to even so much as move from the futon in Kaede's hut. Six days and she hadn't hardly done anything but cry.

"Inuyasha, you have to be nice to her, she's really depressed. She just lost her brother, I wouldn't blame her for not feeling good." Kagome stated.

"Well how long is she gonna stay like that? She has to come out sooner or later." Inuyasha muttered.

"I hope Moyuru chan decides to come out soon, I don't like it when she's feeling bad." Naomi said quietly. She had tried many times to get Moyuru to come out, but every attempt anyone had made so far had failed.

Moyuru's behavior had been worrying everyone. She was doing just as Miroku had made mention of; mourning her loss in a way that wasn't good for her. She hadn't eaten anything since she woke up the first time! If someone didn't do something she was going to mourn herself to her own grave!

Inuyasha let out an agitated sigh before marching off towards the hut.

"Inuyasha, where are you going?" Sango questioned.

"She's not gonna come out of there unless somebody makes her." he stated as he continued to walk.

"No, don't try to force her out, you'll only make things worse!" Kagome protested, gaining a frustrated expression when Inuyasha just ignored her and entered the hut.

Kaede was currently trying to coax Moyuru into eating something and the kitsune hanyou was silently refusing it, having curled up on her side with her back to the priestess. "Please child, ye must eat." Kaede pleaded with her.

Moyuru only kept her silence, her gaze focused on the wall in front of her.

Kaede frowned slightly. The girl was making herself ill and it was worrying her. She had seen this only a few times before, when people believe that they had nothing left worth living for. Moyuru was doing what many a sorrowful soul before her had done, giving herself up to sickness and death. It was a sad and painful process to even watch.

Kaede looked to Inuyasha as he entered, inwardly groaning as she noted the expression on his face. What was he up to?

He paused for a moment, taking in the sight before him. He knew that Moyuru was bad off, he had been there when she had woken up. She had cried so hard that she had made herself sick to her stomach, having to run outside to avoid giving Kaede a mess to clean up. Kagome had stuck it out with her, being the one to hold her long hair away from her face and trying to comfort her, but nothing the young miko had done seemed to have worked. Moyuru still seemed inconsolable.

Now she was truly sick, her stomach not the only thing upset. Her skin was pale, nearly white. She had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were flushed red with fever. At this rate she was going to die, someone had to get her out of there!

"Moyuru--" Inuyasha started.

"Leave me alone, please." Moyuru begged softly.

"I'm not leaving you alone until you come out of this hut." Inuyasha stated stubbornly.

"Please. . ." she pleaded quietly.

"Inuyasha--" Kaede started, but Inuyasha was on a mission and he wasn't going to stop until he had accomplished it.

"You're gonna come out of here if I have to carry you out." he stated firmly, nearing her.

Moyuru didn't respond as she just continued to lie there, her eyes closed so that she looked like she were sleeping, but Inuyasha could tell that she wasn't.

"Fine then, have it your way." Inuyasha grumbled, removing his hands from his sleeves and commencing to pick her up, the blankets still wrapped around her.

"Inuyasha! What do ye think ye are doing?" Kaede asked, taken aback by his actions.

"Getting her outa here, you gotta problem with it?" he asked indignantly before heading out the door.

Moyuru hadn't uttered a word or fought back, lacking the energy to do so. She began to shiver as Inuyasha exited the hut with her. The outside air was chilly, her fever making it feel that much colder.

Everyone seemed a bit alarmed to see Inuyasha carrying Moyuru out of the hut, "Inuyasha what are you doing!" Kagome exclaimed.

Inuyasha ignored her as he continued on his way.

"Would you look at that? He's just walking off with her! What does he think he's doing?" Shippo questioned in disbelief.

"I've gotta go stop him before he makes things any worse." Kagome said, beginning to march off in that direction.

"Wait." came Miroku's voice.

"Nani?" Kagome prompted as she came to a halt, turning to look at him in question.

"What if what Inuyasha is doing isn't the wrong thing to do?" Miroku questioned.

"What are you talking about? he's only going to make her catch a cold too." Sango protested, having moved to walk after the inu hanyou with Kagome.

"What I'm saying is that maybe he's got the right idea. She wasn't coming out for anything. She was practically lying on her death bed so maybe Inuyasha's drastic measures are exactly what is needed." Miroku answered.

Kagome paused, "I never thought of it that way."

"All we can do now is sit back and see if this works." Miroku stated. He had a good idea of what Inuyasha may be doing judging by the direction in which he was headed. Kagome reluctantly stayed where she was, her eyes following Inuyasha as he left the village.

"Where are you taking me?" Moyuru demanded, now sounding a bit annoyed. She had been nearly asleep before but the sudden change in temperature had definitely woken her up.

"Anywhere other than that hut." Inuyasha answered vaguely. "It's really stupid, you making yourself sick like this."

Moyuru sent him a glare, "Take me back right now, I don't want to be out here."

"Nothin' doin'." Inuyasha replied simply.

Moyuru continued to glare at him. Why couldn't he just leave her alone in her grief? She wanted to die, it was her decision why didn't he just let that go?

"It's too damn cold out here and I want to go back! Don't you get it? What I do is my decision and it doesn't concern you!" she stated heatedly.

"Look, let's get this straight, there's something you have to do before I take you back. You got that? So why don't you just relax and enjoy the free ride!" Inuyasha snapped.

Moyuru looked away from him. She clutched the blankets more tightly around herself as her teeth started to chatter from her shivering. Her eyes closed, "It's cold." She whimpered quietly.

After traveling quite a distance into the forest, Inuyasha came upon a clearing. Moyuru opened her eyes as she was set down. She looked around in question before her gaze rested on what looked to be a grave next to her.

Inuyasha straightened, putting his hands in his sleeves. "Hurry up, say your good-byes and move on." he ordered harshly, scowling down at her before turning away.

Moyuru looked to him in shock, "You expect me to just say good-bye and forget about him!" she questioned angrily, tears now beginning to fall again as she glared at him.

Inuyasha whirled on her, "No! I expect you to keep the promise you made to him, or did you forget already?" he retorted.

Moyuru's expression softened as she seemed to realize what he was referring to.

"No one back there wants you to die and you promised you wouldn't give up remember?" he asked.

She averted her gaze to the ground in front of her. Yes, she did remember. She had made that promise.

"I just thought I would remind you because it looked like you'd forgot." Inuyasha stated.

Moyuru looked back up to him, offering him a small smile, "Thank you." she said quietly, "If you hadn't reminded me--"

"I-it's nothin'." Inuyasha interjected quickly after hastily looking elsewhere, a faint blush painting his cheeks. Wait, he was blushing? What was he blushing for and why had he gotten that feeling when she looked him in the eyes and smiled at him?

No way! He couldn't be falling for her! He had made a promise to Kagome! He tried to shrug off the feeling, quickly dismissing it as nothing in his mind though it still bugged him. He continued to stand there to wait on Moyuru, gazing off into the distance.

Moyuru opened her brilliant blue eyes as she finished a silent prayer. Her brother had wanted her to move on, that's why he had made her make that promise to him. How could she had been so stupid as to forget about it? "I'm ready now. I'll never forget, but I'm ready to move on like he wanted me to do." She said with determination.

"So you're ready to start heading back?" Inuyasha asked, turning to her. He seemed surprised to see that she was already trying to get to her feet and struggling to do so.

"Yes, I'm ready and you don't need to carry me. . . I'll walk." she said sternly as she finally managed to stand.

"Are you sure you want to? It's a ways back to the village." Inuyasha said trying to keep the concern out of his tone.

"I've got it." Moyuru replied as she took a few shaky steps. She hadn't noticed how weak she had gotten. Her fever already seemed to have gone down, the sickness seeming to have lessened as the grief had been lifted from her but she was still left weak from the way she had starved herself.

Inuyasha went to her side incase she may need his help. She looked as though she could fall at any moment.

"Thanks for being a friend. . . one of my only friends." Moyuru said, a small, soft smile coming to her face, "I don't have many but the ones I have are really great."

"It's nothing, I was just doing what everyone else was trying to do." Inuyasha said, again averting his gaze somewhere else as though he were afraid to make eye contact with her, blushing yet again.

"Yeah, but. . . you understood what I needed. You helped to remind me, you helped me to find some kind of resolve and for that I'm grateful." Moyuru stated graciously.

Moyuru seemed to think about something, seeming troubled. She was suddenly snapped back from her thoughts as she tripped. She cried out as she felt herself begin to fall.

Inuyasha quickly caught her, having to wrap his arms around her to keep her from hitting the ground. "You okay?" he asked as he continued to hold her up.

She leaned heavily on the arm he had thrown out in front of her to catch her. "Yeah, I'm. . . fine." she answered as she looked to him, her sentence trailing off as they caught one another's gaze. They both paused.

What's going on? Moyuru questioned though the question seemed to be shoved to the back of her mind as quickly as it had entered her thoughts. They began to draw closer together, Inuyasha's hold on her changing so that instead of holding her up he was now gently pressing her against him.

She chewed on her bottom lip a bit as she continued to look into his amber eyes. What was this feeling? It was unlike anything she had ever felt before, she felt as though fire flowed through her veins instead of blood. An electrifying sensation shot through her as he drew close enough that she could feel the warmth from his breath on her.

They both suddenly paused, seeming to just now realize what was going on. They both quickly tore their gazes from one another now that they were no longer caught up in the moment.

Moyuru seemed surprised as she noticed that she was trembling. What had just happened? "Um. . . you can l-let go of me n-now." Moyuru stuttered out timidly, taking in a deep breath to try and slow down her racing heart.

Inuyasha blinked, having not noticed that he still held her in his arms. He instantly withdrew, "Uh, sorry." he apologized quickly, his face turning beat red as he looked off into the distance.

He was already beating himself up on the inside. What had he almost done? He nearly kissed her, that's what he had almost done! It just wasn't right, though at the particular moment, when they were lost in each other's eyes, it had felt so perfect. He chanced to look to Moyuru who had sunken to the ground looking as confused as ever. She looked as though she were just as conflicted and startled as he was.

"I-I. . . I can't get up." she said quietly, embarrassed to admit the fact.

Inuyasha sighed heavily, picking her up and beginning off with her, though this time it was more awkward than before. "You wouldn't be like this if you hadn't made yourself sick in the first place." he stated.

After a good distance of him carrying her she decided that she wanted to walk the rest of the way. "It shouldn't be too far now anyway." she stated.

He only nodded once, setting her down on her feet.

She seemed frustrated to find that her legs would still only barely hold her up. Inuyasha seemed to be thinking of something, "You can lean on me if you need to, I understand if you want to walk the rest of the way." he offered in an unusually hesitant manner.

Moyuru was beginning to refuse his offer when her leg nearly gave out from under her. She sighed heavily, allowing him to support her. "Heck," she muttered, "At least I tried." she said.

A small smile crept across Inuyasha's face. She could be a bit amusing at times. Her personality was beginning to show through more now that some of the sorrow had left her.

"Look! They're back!" Shippo exclaimed, pointing to Inuyasha and Moyuru as they resurfaced at the village.

"And she's walking." Sango added, seemingly surprised.

"It seems as though whatever Inuyasha did worked." Miroku stated.

"Moyuru chan!" Naomi exclaimed as she ran to greet her.

Moyuru looked to her, giving her a small smile, "Hey." she said as Naomi reached her.

"You're gonna be okay now right?" Naomi asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Moyuru answered, pausing and blushing as her stomach growled loudly. "Well, it looks like I got my appetite back. . . and then some." she said with a nervous laugh.

Naomi beamed, "What are you waiting for? C'mon, you gotta be really hungry! Lady Kaede still has food, I'm sure she'll let you eat all you want!" Naomi said as she began towards the hut.

Inuyasha helped Moyuru inside, setting her down before walking back out, the others quickly joining him. "Hey Inuyasha, what'd you do to get her to feel better?" Shippo asked from Kagome's shoulder.

"Yeah, she looks like she feels a lot better." Kagome said.

Everyone looked to him for an answer. He stopped walking for a moment to talk to them. "All I did was take her to her brother's grave. It was no big deal." he answered.

"How did that help?" Shippo questioned, looking a bit perplexed. If it was her brother she was crying and grieving over, then how could taking her to his grave help her?

"I get it. Her brother wouldn't have wanted her to die and she knows that." Sango stated,

"Then why was she starving herself?" Kagome asked

"It looks like she forgot." Shippo offered.

"I figured that if she remembered she'd stop starving herself, that's all." Inuyasha stated.

Kagome smiled up at him fondly.

"What?" Inuyasha prompted, looking to her in question. He went rigid as she began to scratch behind his ears.

"You can be nice when you want to." Kagome replied with a big smile. He was so soft on the inside and she knew it. It was nice that he finally started helping people out.

Inuyasha quickly pulled away, "Stop treating me like a dog!" he yelled indignantly, throwing his hands up over his ears and glaring at her.

"So you're saying that you thought that she would remember her brother's sacrifice if you took her to his grave?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah, it didn't take a lot of thinking to figure out." Inuyasha stated, turning and beginning to walk off.

"Apparently not if he thought of it." Shippo commented quietly to Kagome.

Inuyasha paused, suddenly whirling. "What was that? You come over here and say that you little runt!" he yelled angrily. If one's ears really blew steam when they were angry, he would be fuming worse than a steam engine working overtime. Shippo paled as Inuyasha neared him.

"You'd better start running now if you plan on escaping with your life!" an irate Inuyasha threatened as he began after Shippo.

"Waaa!" Shippo wailed as he began running for his life in circles around the group, his arms flailing about in panic, "Somebody help me!" he cried franticly.

"Inuyasha. . ." Kagome said in a warning tone.

Inuyasha froze, looking like a deer in headlights, "No, wait, Kagome! Don--"

"SIT!" Kagome commanded.

"Ah!" Inuyasha cried as the beads began to glow and drag him down. He slammed face-down into the ground for nearly the thousandth time since meeting Kagome. Couldn't she ever give him a break!

"Serves him right." Shippo commented.

Inuyasha gave the kit a glare from the hole he had found himself in. This was all his fault, spoiled little youkai. Inuyasha let out an indignant huff before getting up, brushing himself off and storming away.

So, how was that? Do I still have everyone in character? I hope so. . . otherwise I just screwed things up. Anyway I'll update if you people still want to read more. And don't worry! I know that my summary said Inuyasha/Kagome, and it will be, but what's a story without a little bit of turbulence huh?

PREVIEW!

Chapter 13 : New friends and a Love in Question

Inuyasha denies that he has developed feelings for the new addition to the group while Moyuru doesn't want to break up Inuyasha and Kagome. Will their feelings go any further or will they always be so close yet so far away? Also, Moyuru meets some new friends.

Mayu Kitsune