so here's chapter 3. next one should be out by this weekend. enjoy!

btw, please review! i'd like to know if you like it or not...

disclaimer: i do not own the characters from Inuyasha. i only own this storyline :P


Chapter 3

His hand clenched the jewel tightly in his palm. Swinging down from the tree's branch, he broke into a run, the intermittent moonlight through leaves his only guide down the path. His mind was void of all thoughts except for one, and that one thought made him run as fast as he could.


Kagome woke up to darkness. Groggily, she reached to rub her eyes. They were swollen and puffy because she had been crying--she could feel the thickness of her lids with her fingers as she rubbed them. Blinking a few times she turned over to take a look at the time. The green numbers read "1:09." Sighing, she turned over.

She drew her blanket close to her body, suddenly realizing that she was still wearing her dirty school uniform. But she couldn't care less. There were bigger things on her mind. She flicked her eyes in the darkness of her room and tried to focus on something that would distract her from the matter at hand. But it was too dark. And focussing on pitch black would never do.

She let out another sigh and closed her eyes to see if that would help. But she met darkness again under her eyelids and gave up; she launched herself into deep thought.

Inuyasha. Her mind began to buzz.

What a jerk. He's just been using me to find those oh-so-precious jewel shards. How did I get roped into this whole thing anyway? Oh...right...I shattered it. That has got to be dumbest thing I have ever done. And look! All the time I wasted traipsing all over place. I was almost killed a few times! I'm just glad I'm still in one piece. I guess I'd have to thank the idiot for saving my butt. No--I don't have to thank him. I mean, he's the one who dragged me into all of this crap. I don't know why I stuck by him...

But...how can I not? I can't not stick by him...I wouldn't know what to do then. I don't know what to do now...

Why did I have to mess things up and tell him that I was going to leave for good? Why? WHY?

The tears started to well up in her eyes again and she bit her lip trying to hold back a sob. She felt empty, lying there on her bed, alone and in the dark. The emptiness evoked memories of herself and Inuyasha.

She could no long hold back the tears, they ran across her face down to her pillow. They were hot and heavy--heavy with emotion. Her heart twisted into a knot. She let out a small whimper.


He was perched on the tree by her window. Though he could not see them, he smelt the saltiness of her tears running down her face.

He made it through the well, alright. But now, he was ashamed and unsure. Ashamed because he had waited for so long before running after Kagome and unsure because he didn't know just what to say. His heart could only repeat the one thing he had just realized not long ago. He bowed his head, as if in prayer.

Knocking came from the door and Kagome sniffled to clear her nose and quickly rubbed her face on her pillowcase. She rearranged herself, turning so her face was half-buried in the pillow and facing the wall. She didn't want anybody to know that she had been crying.


"Kagome?" came a soft voice as the door opened a crack that let in the light from the hall. Kagome's eyes squeezed shut in the sudden sting of the light disturbing the thick darkness of her room.

"Kagome?" her mother repeated again.

Kagome gave no answer. If she didn't answer, her mother might think she had only been dreaming.

Her mother must have been thinking just that, because after a few moments, Mrs Higurashi smiled at her daughter's limp form sprawled on the bed and quietly shut the door behind her. Kagome let out the breath she had been holding when she heard the door close. She opened her eyes again, relieved that it was dark again.

But her relief was cut short. Her mind turned back to her thoughts about Inuyasha.

The tears began to well up and spill over her face again, and she cried, her whimpers now muffled by her pillow.


Outside the window, the hanyou's ears perked at the girl's muffled cries. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He knew that Kagome was hurting inside and that she was trying to hide it from everyone else. He knew that he was the only person who could fix this. He knew he had to do something. And he knew that he had to do it soon. But didn't know what or how.

As Kagome cried herself to sleep a second time that night, Inuyasha followed suit.

A single tear escaped from his watering eyes and dropped onto his sleeve. He slowly brought that sleeve close to his aching heart and closed his eyes.