Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Twelve: A Broken Wish

"Oh my gracious," a quiet voice on the edge of the clearing twittered. "This did not go at all as I had planned."

"Oh, gods!" Inuyasha cried in anguish. "I killed her!"

The young didn't care if anyone saw his tears or heard the hiccupping sobs that he couldn't control. What did anything matter now that he murdered the woman he loved. Despair made him physically sick and threatened to overwhelm him when he heard an incredulous voice speak up from several yards away.

"I can't believe I'm not dead!"

"Of course you aren't, stupid. Do you think I'd let some wimpy human kill you?"

"But the sword went right through me!"

A shocked demon slayer, monk, fox kit and fire cat watched with interest as the sound of Kagome's voice finally broke through to the human Inuyasha. He wiped his eyes with the tail of his shirt and choked a little, then whispered her name hoarsely.

"Kagome…"

Sango went to put her hand on his arm to help him up, but her hand went through him. It was an odd feeling. Or lack of feeling. Actually, it was very creepy. And it is pretty tough to creep out a demon slayer. She took a couple of steps back.

"But… I… I killed her…"

"No, you didn't," she assured him.

"But the sword…"

Sango would have liked to shake him until he stopped sounding so bewildered. But she wasn't able to get a grip on him, so she would just have to be patient instead. All she could do was try to explain to him what she saw.

"The sword DID go through them." The slayer narrowed her eyes as she glared at him and clenched her fists tightly in an effort to control her temper. After all, she had just seen this man skewer her best friend. "And yes, the sword looked solid. But when you saw Kagome something happened and the sword became intangible as well. Maybe you lost concentration. Maybe instinct kept you from hurting her. I don't know for sure. Then Inuyasha… our Inuyasha… grabbed Kagome and took her to safety."

"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"It's just a scratch, Inuyasha."

"YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

"Calm down! It's just a tiny little scratch."

"SHIPPO, BRING KAGOME'S FIRST AID KIT! NOW!"

"Stop yelling! And get your hands off my skirt!"

That got everyone's attention. At the silence that fell on the camp, Inuyasha and Kagome realized everyone was looking at them with eyebrows raised. Instead of dropping the hem of Kagome's skirt (honestly… he was JUST trying to look at the wound), the blushing hanyou moved in front of her to block everyone's view as he inspected the gash on her upper thigh.

He would have moved quicker if Kagome's actions hadn't startled him. When would the girl learn that a sword through the belly wouldn't kill HIM? It was unthinkable that she would put her life at risk just for his. That she would shed… blood… for him. He shook his head fiercely. When the human let go of the sword it had become solid once more. And though the hanyou was fast, he wasn't quite fast enough to prevent him from drawing her blood.

HER blood.

On HIS sword.

Inuyasha cringed at the thought. It made him sick. He wondered if how he would ever be able to look at the sword again without seeing her blood staining the edge. Would he ever be able to close his eyes again and not see his sword plunged through her belly? If he had even been a moment slower… His ears flattened against his skull, nearly disappearing in his silver hair as he tried to dispel that thought. He would have spent more time wallowing in self pity if he hadn't noticed that everyone was trying to see what he was doing with Kagome's skirt.

"YOU'RE ALL A BUNCHA PERVERTS!"

"Hey, Inuyasha…" Shippo bounded over with the first aid kit.

The dog demon hastily grabbed the kit and ripped it open in desperate search of gauze, tape, and every type of ointment she carried. "What do you want, brat? I'm busy."

"Who is that old lady staring at us?"

All eyes slowly turned towards from Kagome and Inuyasha to the elderly lady standing at the edge of the clearing, looking terribly disturbed.

"No," the woman fretted to herself, "This was not how it was supposed to go at all."

Both Inuyashas jumped to their feet and placed themselves between Kagome and the elderly woman. She may have looked harmless, but one never knew for sure.

"Who are you?" they demanded in unison (though the hanyou added a rude expletive in there and a threatening motion). Neither one of them touched the sword still embedded in the tree.

"I am Kuusouka."

Everyone waited for further explanation.

And waited.

And waited some more.

"Who the…"

"Hello, Kuusouka." Kagome interrupted the hanyou before he could insult the elderly woman again. She gave her a bright smile despite the slight pain in her leg. "It is nice to meet you. We were just wondering who you are and if you know anything about what is going on."

"I am the weaver of dreams." She smiled at Kagome warmly. "And I was returning a kindness that you once showed me."

"Uh…" The young miko couldn't place where she had seen the woman before no matter how hard she tried. "Really?"

"I repaid your kindness by granting the wish you made so long ago." The woman looked at the human and hanyou Inuyashas and frowned. "But this did not turn out the way it was supposed to. Something has gone frightfully amiss."

"My wish?" Kagome looked at both Inuyashas, confused. The human looked sheepish, and the hanyou was glaring at her. "What wish?"

"May an old woman sit by the fire?"

Flustered at her lack of manners, Kagome quickly cleared off a place for the weaver of dreams to sit. She sat across the fire from her. Sango sat nearest to the dream weaver with Kirara on her lap in case it was a trap. Her weapon was close at hand in case she needed it. Miroku sat next to Sango because… well, because that was his favorite place to be. Shippo sat in Kagome's lap while the human Inuyasha took the seat next to her. The hanyou stood protectively behind his miko with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Well?" prompted Inuyasha brusquely. "Get on with it."

The woman wrinkled her nose at the rude dog demon and gave Kagome a curious look. "This is the one you chose?" She looked again. "Are you certain?"

Kagome blushed as everyone waited for her answer. "Um…"

Kuusouka closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as if rubbing away a headache. "Your wish was to stay with the hanyou, was it not?"

The blush darkened. "Um… well… yes…"

"Do you love him?"

"ACK!" Kagome bolted from her seat, sending poor Shippo flying into Miroku, and scrambled a few feet back. Ironically she ran right into the hanyou's red clad legs. "What does THAT have to do with anything?"

"If we are to find out what has gone wrong with the wish, we need honest answers." The weaver's voice was slightly irritable. "Do you love him?"

Of all the many ways that Kagome had thought about declaring her love to the man behind her, this wasn't one of them. Every single pair of eyes was staring right at her. Including the human Inuyasha. His gaze hurt the most. His eyes pleaded with her. Kagome closed her eyes and clutched a hand to her chest. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. But she couldn't lie, not when they needed the truth so badly. Besides, he probably already knew it. Everyone else did, didn't they?

"Yes."

There was a loud whoosh of air behind her. The corner of her mouth twitched as she got a whiff of beef ramen. When she felt a slightly trembling hand on her shoulder she opened her eyes. However, she wasn't quite brave enough to turn around and face him.

"And did you not wish for him to become human for you?"

"What?" the miko gasped.

The hand on her shoulder tightened in reflex, then fell away.

"Kagome…" his voice sounded broken.

Quickly Kagome jumped to her feet and spun around to face him. "No! Never! I've never wished that, Inuyasha. NEVER!"

Had she? Surely not. She loved him the way that he was. He wouldn't be Inuyasha if he was anything else. Or could some small secret place in her heart have wished it? Sure, it was nice getting to go to school with Inuyasha and having him a part of her life all the time, but there was no way she would wish something like that on him. He would be miserable. Besides, his fuzzy ears were too darn cute to want rid of them.

The woman was wrong.

The hanyou turned his head from her, letting his bangs cover his eyes so she wouldn't see how badly she wounded him. Although her grip on his sleeve kept him from jumping away, he refused to look at her. He could feel his heart actually breaking. And it hurt. It hurt more than the arrow that had once pinned him to the tree.

"How could you, Kagome?" He tugged his sleeve away. "I thought… Kagome… I thought you…" Unable to finish the sentence, he started walking away. He only paused when he heard the old woman speak again.

"Kagome?" the dream weaver said curiously.

"You are wrong! I never once wished Inuyasha human, Kuusouka," she denied vehemently, knowing in her heart that it was honestly true. "He is perfect the way that he is. I wouldn't change him for anything." She darted forward to grab onto his sleeve again, jumping in front of him to halt his progress. "I would never wish that, you idiot!"

"What a touching declaration of love," murmured Miroku to Sango, who nodded with a gentle snicker. Kirara mewed in reply. "She has a way with such sweet words. It is no wonder she has won so many hearts."

"Kagome?" Kuusouka said again.

"What?" snapped the miko as she braced herself to make sure that Inuyasha didn't move a single inch until he got it through his thick head that the woman was lying.

"But…I do not understand. You are Kikyo, are you not?"

"Kikyo?" echoed Inuyasha and Kagome in unison.

Shippo hopped up onto Sango's shoulder and munched on a stick of strawberry pocky he found in Kagome's backpack while people were arguing. The great thing about all this fighting was that it left the snack stash completely unguarded.

"This," he laughed with a full mouth, "is going to be interesting."

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Disclaimer Part II: The character Kuusouka is mine. Actually, she is the first made up character I've made for a fanfiction.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for your great reviews! I really appreciate them. You guys had such great ideas of what might have happened that I was very tempted to use them. However, I'm sticking with my game plan.

Nexa dubbed me Touch of Evil Pixie Dust... I kinda like it. Bwa ha haaaa...

Next chapter: Decisions, Decisions