Here it is! The last chapter of "Anything But Paradise!" Wow, this literally took me all day to write!!! It's really long, so bear with me. I was very reluctant to end it. Alas, though do not fret yet. I still have the epilogue to write. So technically one more chapter! I just want to thank everyone who's been with me from the beginning! I just can't believe it's like 1 away from being over! Forever! Well, I hope you enjoy the almost last chapter of "Anything But Paradise!" !!!
Oh yeah, by the way, I gave Kikyo a last name. I don't think I did earlier. If I did, and it's different, I'm sorry! As usual, Disclaimer: Anything affiliated with InuYasha I Do Not own. If I did, I'd be effin' rich!
Chapter 15: The Way It Should Be
Getting settled back to how it used to be for InuYasha was a little harder than he first thought. His company was a mess, employees were scrambling around, stock brokers were calling asking when the value of the company would go up, and on, and on, and on…
InuYasha hung up the phone on an angry sponsor. He leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. It had been a week since he came back from being stranded on that island. Everything that happened now only seemed like a dream, which was slowly slipping away from his memory.
He closed his eyes. Sometimes, he could still smell the fresh salt air. That island was sure damned more peaceful than this place; he had to give it that. Well, minus the tension between Miroku and Sango, and he and Kagome…
…Say, whatever happened to Kagome? He had tried to call her with the number that Sango (reluctantly) gave him the day they returned, but so far, no one had answered. Come to think of it, she seemed to have disappeared shortly after they got off the helicopter…maybe he would try once more, and let it ring for a while this time. If someone was home, they wouldn't be able to stand a ringing phone for that long.
He picked up the phone and dialed. He had lost track of the number of times he had tried to call to the point where his hand automatically dialed her number. Was she avoiding him? But why would she do that? And surely, she could've at least said "goodbye" or something before she left…
The ring tone sounded through his ear. 3 times…4 times…should he hang up now? He usually did. But no, he wanted her to pick up. 6 times…then he heard a click.
"Hello," Kagome's cheerful voice said.
"Kagome? It's me, InuYasha, I…"
"You've reached Kagome Higurashi! I can't get to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number after the beep, I'll get back to you as soon as I can,"
Damn. It was her machine. It beeped. InuYasha was at loss for words.
"Uh…Kagome? It's me, InuYasha…look I've tried to call but you haven't been at home or whatever. Where the hell are you? I just wanna talk to you, if you're there, please pick up…"
Suddenly, he heard someone pick up the phone. "Kagome?" He heard a sniff before he heard a click. She hung up on him!
What the hell? Was she…crying? Gah!!! What the hell is wrong with her???
He continued to massage his temples. Something wasn't right. He paged Miroku.
He was going to find out what was going on.
Kagome unplugged the phone. She was getting sick of that thing ringing all the time. Couldn't she get some peace and quiet in her own apartment? Besides, InuYasha was the last person she wanted to talk to.
She couldn't believe him. How could he lead her on like that? Why did she fall for such an arrogant ass in the first place? She saw his girlfriend. She was pretty and probably rich. They deserved each other.
And on top of that, the school she worked for was giving her the rest of the school year off, saying that she needed some "recovery" time or whatever. She had deleted that message when she got home. Kagome sighed. She didn't really care anymore, it's not like she felt like doing anything anyway.
Life sucks…she thought as she dug a bag of chips from her cupboard and headed back to her bed.
Her room was a disaster. There were wrappers, packages and crumbs all over the place. She passed a mirror in the hallway as she headed to her room. Her hair was array, her pajamas were starting to look dirty, and her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying she had done. She sniffed and trudged back to her room.
She lay in bed and flipped through the TV channels. When she landed on a soap opera, she opened her bag of chips. This had been her entire week: eat, cry, sleep, watch TV, eat and cry some more…wasn't depression wonderful?
"Ricardo, you know I love you!" the woman on the television said.
"I love you too Sophia! More than the sun and stars combined!" 'Ricardo' replied.
"Don't listen to the asshole! He's lying!" Kagome yelled, throwing the bag of chips at the TV. She felt tears welling up in her eyes again. God dammit, wasn't she out of tears already?
She cried herself to sleep again.
"You rang?" Miroku said, popping his head in the doorway. InuYasha turned his chair to face him.
"Yeah, um, Sango didn't happen to give you Kagome's address, did she?" InuYasha asked. Miroku seemed to ponder the thought for a moment.
"Not that I can recall, but we're going out tonight so I'll ask her and call you," Miroku replied. InuYasha nodded. There was a moment of silence. InuYasha decided to spark up some conversation for lack of anything else to do.
"So how are you and Sango doing?" he asked flatly.
"It's great! Actually, you won't believe what I'm actually going to do," Miroku responded, with a wide grin.
"Not grope her?" InuYasha said bluntly.
"Nope, better!" Miroku said. InuYasha got a little suspicious. Miroku dug his hand into his coat pocket. Out came a little black box. Miroku opened the box which revealed a simple diamond ring. InuYasha stared.
"You sure you wanna do that?" InuYasha asked. Miroku laughed as he put the box away.
"Of course. I always know what I want to do!" Miroku replied. InuYasha gave a small smile to his friend.
"Well, good luck," he said.
"Thanks man," Miroku replied, "You too, eh?"
InuYasha nodded. Miroku left and InuYasha rested his head on his desk. Man, was he tired. Maybe just a little nap…
There was a ringing sound next to InuYasha's ear which jolted him awake. He picked up the phone, thinking it was Kagome.
"Kagome?" he said.
"Kagome? Who's Kagome? You're not cheating on me, are you darling?" said Kikyo's voice.
"Oh, no. Just an…employee of mine. Had her do some research. Was just waiting for her to get back to me," he lied. To be honest, he was disappointed that it wasn't Kagome.
"Well, I was just calling to see if planned on coming home tonight. You've been cooped up in that office all week…or if you want I could come to you?" she teased.
"No, that's okay. But I'll probably be here again tonight. The company's a real big mess, so…"
"Okay," she pouted. "I guess I'll just go shopping then,"
Yeah, you go do that…InuYasha thought groggily. "Alright. Talk to you later," InuYasha said.
"Bye-bye darling! Love you!" she said, hanging up the phone. He did the same.
InuYasha looked at the clock. It was about seven o'clock. He yawned.
Wonder how Miroku's doing…
Sango looked beautiful. She wore a long black dress which accentuated her curves. It had one sleeve which just covered her shoulder. Her hair was hanging down, and damn did she smell nice.
Miroku just gazed at her from across the table as she scanned the menu. He was dining her at the "Shikon no Tama" restaurant tonight. A small jazz band was playing in the background. It was the perfect setting for his proposal.
She looked at him with her big brown eyes. She took a sip of her Chardonnay, and put her menu down.
"Well, I know what I'm having. How about you?" she asked.
How he loved her voice. He pretended to scan the menu. "I think I'm just going to have the veal…" Sango giggled.
"You must be a mind reader or something. Because that's what I'm having too," she replied. They even had the same taste in food!
The waiter came by and took their orders. Miroku took Sango's hand. His other was fidgeting with the little black box in his pocket.
"You know, even though we haven't really known each other that long, I feel like we've known each other for years," Miroku said.
"I know. Isn't it creepy?" Sango replied. Miroku smiled.
"I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," she whispered back. Miroku began to get nervous. Was this the right time or maybe after dinner? It was the first time he didn't know what to do.
"Say, uh…Sango? I have something I wanted to, uh…ask you," he stuttered. She looked confused.
"What is it?" she asked.
Will you marry me? Miroku's mouth was open, but no words were coming out.
C'mon, Miroku! You can do this! All you have to say is "Will you marry me?"
Sango stared at him. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah. Just fine," Miroku swallowed. Maybe now wasn't the right time. "InuYasha, was uh, wondering if maybe you had Kagome's address. He wanted to visit her or something,"
Well, that was better than nothing…
Sango looked a little disappointed, but pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.
"To be honest, I don't think he deserves to see her after what he did," Sango said, scribbling something down. "I should probably go see her myself, to check up on her. If I know Kagome, she's probably gone into her depression cycle again,"
Sango sighed and handed the paper to Miroku. She had a point. He would call InuYasha later. There were more important things that Miroku had to do.
InuYasha felt himself going insane. Was Miroku going to call him or what? Did he not care that InuYasha was having a problem? That was just so Miroku!
I'm going to break something if he doesn't call with that address soon!
InuYasha began to pace around the room, talking out loud to himself.
"Maybe Sango hasn't given it to him yet…or maybe he hasn't asked? No, he would've asked by now…and surely he'd be able to coax it outta her or something…oh my God…maybe she killed him!!! Now what am I gonna do?! I'm losing my mind!!!"
InuYasha sat back in his chair and stared at the phone. Maybe with enough mind power it would ring on its own.
The phone just sat there. InuYasha stared harder.
Nothing.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
InuYasha picked up the phone and smashed it on the ground. When he came to reality, all he saw was his broken phone. He stood there stunned. Then he realized what he did.
"Oh no! Please don't be broken! I'm so sorry phone! Go back together!" InuYasha said trying to jam broken phone parts together.
"Why won't you fit?! No wonder I broke you, you piece of shit!"
Yup, InuYasha had lost his mind.
Kagome heard a voice that sounded like it was in her room.
If you call within the next fifteen minutes of viewing this commercial, we'll send you the butt buster for FREE!
Huh? What was this guy talking about? She opened her eyes and sat up. Her TV was still on, and was playing an infomercial on some sort of body workout thing for only 2000 yen…
She looked around her room. What a mess. Maybe she should clean up?
Later, she thought.
She flipped the channels to find something interesting to watch. Suddenly, she saw a flash of a very familiar face. She went back. It was InuYasha! He was being interviewed on the evening international news. Judging from the date, it was old.
"So, Mr. Takahashi, what are your plans for your company in the future?" the interviewer asked.
"Well, right now, we're working on new software that will actually be an option for deaf people to choose to start to hear. Kind of like a super-powered hearing aid," the TV InuYasha replied.
"Wow, anything else?"
"Hmm…I also want to help more schools get more computer resources for the kids, you know? Lots of schools lately are lacking the resources for kids to do research for projects and stuff, plus it'll be good for teachers too,"
What a load of bull crap…if only people knew how much of an asshole he was…
The interview went on to ask InuYasha about his childhood and whatever. Then it moved to his current (well at that time anyway) personal life.
"Have anyone special in your life right now?"
"Oh yeah, she's amazing. She's really nice and charitable. We can really understand each other and stuff," he replied.
Obviously talking about Kikyo…I would never stand a chance with InuYasha…
When Kagome felt herself getting upset again, she shut the TV off. She really needed to get herself off the ground. She got up, and went into the shower.
It was time to move on.
After dinner and desert, Miroku was even more nervous than before. Why was he so nervous? Surely proposing couldn't be that hard…
Oh, what the hell am I talking about?! This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life!!!
He looked at Sango. She was beautiful. He truly loved her. He never really felt this way about anyone in his life. This is what he wanted. Soon, he felt himself gaining his normal courage again.
"Sango?" he asked.
"Yes?" she replied, turning to him.
"Even though we really haven't known each other that long…" Yes, this is what I truly want… "I feel that you can really understand me and I can really understand you…" C'mon, you're almost there… "And I've never felt this way about anyone else in my life…"
Miroku got up and kneeled next to Sango's seat taking her hands. She gasped and put one hand against her mouth.
"I love you, Sango Watanabe. Will you marry me?"
He noticed tears border lining her eyes. He hoped that she would say yes.
Sango couldn't believe what was happening. Miroku was actually proposing? To her?!
"I-I don't know what to say…I love you too…" Sango stuttered. She was so surprised.
What are you waiting for, stupid?! Say YES!
Miroku's face sort of dropped.
Is she going to say no? He thought.
Sango opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Say YES dammit!!! YES!!!
"Y-yes!" she finally said.
I knew it…I'm a failure…wait a minute…
"Did you just say yes?" Miroku asked.
"Yes," Sango repeated, tears falling down slowly.
"Yes? Yes!" Miroku cheered. He pulled out the box from his pocket. She gasped,
"Miroku, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"You are too," he responded.
They kissed…both thinking of how happy they were going to be.
InuYasha woke up under his desk. Had he fallen asleep here? His neck was sore…so he must've.
He sat up. He soon remembered what happened the night before.
"Oh no! The phone!"
He stood up and headed to where the broken phone lay the night prior. He soon realized that it wasn't there.
What the…?
He looked at his desk. There sat his phone, all fixed. It couldn't have fixed itself, could it?
He noticed a sticky note on the phone. It read:
"Nice job with your phone, boss. I took the liberty of fixing it for you this morning. What would you do without a genius kid like me? By the way, Miroku called. Her address is on the other side of the note. Shippo PS. You owe me one!"
He was going to kill Shippo. After he thanked him for fixing his phone.
Well, it certainly wasn't perfect, but at least she and her apartment were clean. Kagome yawned as she went into the kitchen to find some real food to cook. It was around 4 o'clock and she was getting hungry.
She stared at her cupboards. Nothing there. She opened her fridge. Nothing much there, either.
I'll have to go shopping later…looks like I'll just order in tonight.
She went over to the phone to find it unplugged. She plugged it back in and went to retrieve her phonebook. Soon the phone started to ring. Kagome picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Kagome? It's Sango," said Sango's voice.
"Hey! How are you?"
"I'm excellent! You'll never guess what Miroku asked me last night!"
"What?"
"He proposed!!! I'm getting married!!!!"
Kagome held the phone at a little distance away from her ear. Sango usually had a loud voice over the phone.
"Wow! Really? That's great, and about time too!"
"Yeah, I know! You are definitely going to be my maid of honour, okay Kagome?"
"Of course I will. Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"
"Thank you! Well, before I go, I also called to see how you were doing,"
"Oh, I'm alright. No need to be worried about me. You just worry about your wedding,"
"Well, that's good to hear Kagome. We should get together later, okay? I have to go. So I'll talk to you later?"
"Yup. Bye, and congrats again!"
"Thanks! I'm getting married! Bye!"
Both hung up the phone. Kagome felt really happy for Sango.
Maybe she'd be able to move on, after all.
InuYasha paced back and forth in front of Kagome's door. He knew he'd have to talk to her eventually. Why was he so nervous?
She's probably gonna kill me or something! Gah! What do I do?
Soon he found himself knocking her door.
Kagome heard someone knocking at the door. Was the food here already? Talk about fast service. She got the money that she placed on the counter and headed to the door. She opened the door.
"Wow, I didn't know that would come so fast…" she began.
There was InuYasha standing in her doorway.
InuYasha could only stare. He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to ask her why the hell she'd been avoiding him. But no words would come out. He was paralyzed.
There was a deep silence between them. Kagome was the first to speak.
"What do you want?" she asked quietly. Anger was dripping from her voice. It made InuYasha wince.
"I wanted to see you…I've tried to call," he said meekly.
"I know," she shot back. Slowly, all of InuYasha's confidence was slipping away. He couldn't find his words.
"If you have nothing to say, then please leave," she said, beginning to close the door.
"Wait!" InuYasha said, stopping the door. "Wait…"
"What do you want from me? Haven't you used me enough?" Kagome yelled.
"Used you? What?"
"Don't play stupid. You led me to believe that you actually…just forget it. Go away," She began to close the door again.
InuYasha felt his anger getting the better of him, as he stopped the door again and forced himself inside her apartment.
"I led you to believe what?" he shouted.
"Like you don't know! I can't believe that I actually might've…God! Something was seriously wrong with me!"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I love you!" She screamed. InuYasha was left speechless. He noticed the tears bordering in her eyes.
"Kagome…I…" he began.
"Just…go. I don't want to talk to you," she said quietly, turning away from him.
"But, Kagome…" he started, putting his hand on her shoulder. She pushed it off.
"No. Just go. Please," she said staring at the floor, tears running down her cheeks.
InuYasha felt like nothing he could say would be effective. He slowly turned around and left.
Kagome closed the door behind him. She then slumped down and began to cry.
What have I done?
Another week went by. InuYasha couldn't think straight. He hadn't really found out why Kagome was mad at him…he just seemed to make it worse.
He thought about calling, but decided against it. He couldn't bear hearing the anger in her voice again. Besides, there was work to be done.
But he still couldn't shake what Kagome had said to him. Why did she accuse him of using her? He never did anything of the sort!
I love you!
Did she really mean it? InuYasha wasn't sure of anything anymore. Plus, Kikyo was starting to get on his nerves. She was calling him twice the amount of times he tried to call Kagome.
What was this feeling?
Soon there was a knock at the door. InuYasha turned around to face the window. He didn't want to have to deal with anyone today.
"Go away. I don't feel like talking with anyone today, Shippo," he said.
"Unfortunately for you, I do feel like talking," said a familiar voice.
InuYasha turned around and saw his older brother, Sesshomaru. He turned around again.
"What do you want?" InuYasha asked flatly. Sesshomaru was the last person he wanted to speak to.
"Not much, little brother. But I do have some business to discuss with you," he replied coolly.
"I already told you a million times that I'm not selling my company to you," InuYasha answered.
"No, that wasn't what I had in mind. Actually, I wanted to discuss the circumstances of your 'disappearance'," Sesshomaru said. InuYasha turned around.
"Circumstances? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, let's just say it wasn't an accident," Sesshomaru said. He snapped his fingers, and young, familiar looking women with red eyes came in.
"Hey, don't I know you? Wait! You're that flight attendant!" InuYasha exclaimed. She nodded.
"My name is Kagura. And I have some things to tell you about the plane crash, as well as your girlfriend's involvement in it," she explained calmly.
"Kikyo?"
They told him everything, from the very beginning.
Kikyo was sitting at her vanity putting on her newest lipstick. She had actually been rather depressed since Naraku had been put in jail. She was also worried that she could be next. Luckily, InuYasha was too stupid to figure anything out.
"Hey, there, Kikyo," said a voice from behind her. She jumped slightly. She looked in her mirror. There stood InuYasha leaning against the doorway.
"InuYasha! Y-you scared me," she said. She put her lipstick down, and walked over to him and kissed him on the lips. He didn't respond.
"What's wrong, baby?" she asked.
"Who's Naraku?" he asked. Her eyes widened. He began to move forward, and began to move backwards.
"What are you talking about, darling?"
"Don't play dumb. I asked who Naraku was," His eyes looked angry.
"InuYasha, please, let me explain…"
"There's no need. I know about everything. And guess what, darling: You're going to jail. Forever," he said, with a smirk on his face. Soon she got angry.
"You can't do this to me! You can't prove that I did anything! You're nothing without me!" she screamed.
"Is that so?" he replied, uninterested. "Watch me. Come and get her, guys," he shouted to the door. Soon the room was filled with police officers. They put handcuffs on her and began reading her rights.
"Kikyo Hondate you're under arrest for attempt of assassination, forgery of a will, association with a criminal and theft, you have the right to remain silent…"
Kikyo's eyes were wide with fear. "No! Please don't do this! InuYasha! Please! You can't do this to me!" The officers just dragged her out the door.
Kikyo continued to struggle. She noticed Sesshomaru leaning against the wall. She was filled with anger.
"You! I'll get you for this! You're all going to pay!" she screamed. Sesshomaru said nothing.
Finally…it's all over…
Kagome was flipping through the TV channels again. She landed on the news, where they were dragging some crazy woman into jail. Kagome looked closely.
Oh my God! That's Kikyo!
She turned up the volume to hear the report.
"Kikyo Hondate, famous girlfriend of InuYasha Takahashi, was arrested this afternoon at InuYasha's mansion for accounts of attempted assassination, forgery of a will, association with a criminal and theft. It was released today that she was involved with the disappearance of InuYasha Takahashi along with Tokyo crime lord, Naraku. He was arrested a week earlier for numerous charges. Both will be tried in court, however dates are unknown.
"Naraku has also been connected with the murder of local man, Kishimoto Watanabe and son Kohaku Watanabe. It is said that the survivor, Sango Watanabe will be testifying against Naraku in court when a date is set.
"Sources say that Naraku and Kikyo had met six months prior to the disappearance, and having an ongoing affair. It is said that during this time they were plotting the murder of Takahashi-san. When our reporters asked for a statement from their lawyers, Naraku's lawyer said that his client had no comment, while Kikyo's lawyer said that the charges against his client were outrageous. However, he did mention that Kikyo would possibly plea for insanity. When our reporters asked for a statement from InuYasha, no comment was given."
Kagome stared at the TV, completely shocked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing or hearing. So, the crash…was a set up?
InuYasha sat in his office. He had just turned off the TV from watching the evening news. He turned to Miroku and Sango who were standing there watching it with him.
"So there you have it," InuYasha stated.
"Yeah…I still couldn't believe it when they said they found my brother and father's murderer," Sango said. Miroku rubbed her arm.
"Well, I just can't believe neither I nor Kagome were mentioned throughout that entire thing!" Miroku said, sounding disappointed. Sango laughed.
"Get over it," InuYasha said.
"Say, how is Kagome doing? You did go visit her didn't you?" Sango asked.
"Yeah, but let's just say it didn't go too well," InuYasha replied, looking away.
"Well, whatever she did, slam the door in your face or whatever, you probably deserved it. You basically used her, you know," Sango explained.
"See? What is it with you guys saying that I used her! I didn't use her at all!" InuYasha said, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Let's put this in perspective, InuYasha. You tell her you have a girlfriend. You act all nice and lovey-dovey around her, which would naturally, sweep her off her feet. Then you kiss, blah, blah, blah, and then what do you do? You completely forget about her and go off with your girlfriend again. And may I add, your 'girlfriend' is rather psycho," Sango explained, matter-of-factly.
InuYasha just stared at her. He had to let it all sink in. He reflected on his actions. Then it finally hit him.
"Aw shit! I'm an idiot!" he yelled, banging his fists and head on the table. He started to do this repeatedly, muttering profanities each time.
"Glad no one had to tell you," Sango said.
"Uh, InuYasha? I don't think that's really good for you…" Miroku said, trying to stop his friend from losing anymore brain cells. He already had a short supply.
Suddenly InuYasha got up and grabbed his coat. Miroku and Sango looked confused.
"Where are you going?" Sango asked.
"I'm going to go see her!" InuYasha said. And with that, he left.
When he arrived at Kagome's apartment, she wasn't there. He found a small trace of her smell and began to follow it. He ran as fast as he could.
Dammit, why didn't I notice before?
Alas, because you DID NOT consult with ME before you acted!
Don't tell me it's you again!
Yes I am! You're one and only conscious!
InuYasha stopped to catch his breath.
You really annoy me, you know that?
Yeah, I do. But it's so much fun!
Shut up. What do you want?
You should be asking yourself that.
You mean, what do I want?
Precisely.
That's the thing! I don't know what I want!
Sure you do. You want someone who can love you for who you are, despite that you're a hanyou and not love you for your money. You made that mistake once already.
Shut up.
Look, listen to me at least once. That's all I ask. You already have someone who loves you like that. Now, you have to decide how you feel about her. I'll ask again: what do you want?
InuYasha looked up at the sky and saw a lonely star. He dwelled on the thought for a while. He then smiled.
I know what I want…
Kagome sat on the park bench. It was so nice just to sit outside on a night like this. The park was a good place to think at night. Plus, she could see all the stars from here.
The moon shone brightly. She could see the entire playground perfectly. She took in a deep breath of the night air. Not too warm, not too cold. It was just perfect.
The light breeze ruffled at her grocery bags and at her hair. Kagome just stared at the stars. It was truly beautiful…nice and quiet. She closed her eyes.
She heard the distant cars in the Tokyo downtown. She heard the wind rustling through the trees. She heard footsteps. They were coming nearer, and nearer. Soon she heard deep breathing.
A jogger maybe?
Soon the breathing was very close. She no longer heard the footsteps, just the breathing.
"Nice night, eh?" said a familiar voice. Startled, Kagome snapped her eyes open and leaned away from the source of the voice. When her mind began to process what she saw, she was able to breathe a little easier.
"InuYasha? You scared me," Kagome said, holding her hand over her heart.
"I seem to be doing that a lot lately," InuYasha said, looking up at the sky.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Same as you, I guess. Just to sit and think. It was nice, so I decided to take a walk, and I ended up here," he replied. Kagome looked away.
"I saw what happened to Kikyo," she said quietly. InuYasha's ears twitched.
"Thought you would, I bet everyone in the world knows about it. Didn't think it would spread that fast, though," InuYasha replied.
Isn't he affected by it at all? Kagome thought, as she stared at him.
"I know you're probably thinking that I'm not at all affected by this, but believe me, I am," InuYasha said, glancing at the confused look on her face.
Kagome slightly blushed. Not many people besides Sango could read her like that. Not many guys, that is.
"But, you know, I looked at everything that happened, and decided that everything happens for a reason. I mean, I got to me you, didn't I?" InuYasha said. Kagome blushed more, but fought it.
"You don't mean that," she said, turning away again. "You were very happy to be reunited with her…"
InuYasha looked at her. It was exactly what Sango had said. So Kagome really was upset…he felt like such an idiot.
Silence fell between them for a moment. Kagome was the first to speak.
"InuYasha…why? Why did you kiss me?" she asked. Instead of anger, her voice was hinting being hurt more than anything.
That must be what everyone means by me "using" her…I guess I kinda did…but…
"Because…I-I…was afraid. You almost died. I didn't want to lose you. I…I care about you Kagome," InuYasha said. In the corner of her eye, she could see that he was blushing too.
She didn't say anything. He continued.
"Even though it took me a while, I finally saw Kikyo for what she really was. I had to think about what I really wanted, and I realized it was nothing material, or even Kikyo. I realized that I wanted you, Kagome. I realized that had fallen in love with you,"
Kagome felt her heart beating faster and faster with every word. Was he actually saying what she thought he was saying? She turned to look at him. She then noticed that he had gotten a lot closer.
"Please Kagome. Give me another chance," he said, his eyes pleading for her to say yes.
What should I do? She thought. He took her hand. She remembered all the times they had spent together. They were truly wonderful memories. But she had to do what she had to do.
"InuYasha, I wasn't kidding when I told you I loved you. I guess I still do, but I'm not going to allow myself to be hurt again," Kagome said. InuYasha's eyes saddened. She continued.
"You already had a girlfriend, yet you made me fall in love with you. Not to mention you tried to put me in a panic attack with the spider thing,"
InuYasha gave a little chuckle. So did Kagome, recalling the look on his face when she woke up.
"You comforted me and then kissed me. But then we came back, and you went back to your girlfriend. It made me feel used, hurt and betrayed,"
Each of these words stung InuYasha, since they were the opposite of what he truly wanted her to feel. InuYasha let go of her hand and stared at the ground.
"You're right. You deserve someone better than me, Kagome. I'm a complete jerk who doesn't know a thing about women. I understand why you wouldn't want me," InuYasha said. Kagome sighed.
"You didn't let me finish," she stated. He looked at her. Was there still some hope?
"Yes, you are a jerk who doesn't know anything about women. You're also arrogant, rude, out spoken, somewhat sexist, lazy---"
"I get the point," InuYasha said, frowning. She had to laugh. She then began to stroke his ear. He twitched with a jolt of enjoyment.
"But somehow, you're the most amazing, most kind wonderful person I've ever met. I love you, and only you, InuYasha Takahashi. And I am more than willing to give you another chance," she said. InuYasha smiled.
"Really?" he asked-just to make sure. She giggled.
"Yes, really," she replied. He pulled her into his arms and began to breathe in her scent. It was so comforting, and she felt very warm against him.
"I love you…" he whispered into her ear. She looked into his eyes.
"I love you too," she whispered back. He smiled, and then he brought his lips to hers. Kagome quickly responded, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Above them, a meteor shower began to fall.
This was the way it should be.
There it is! I just had to have InuYasha aruge with his conscious one last time before the story was officially over! Please REVIEW and watch for the Epilogue! It should be out tomorrow night or something! sniff It's so close to the end!!!!!! Hope you enjoyed!