Sometime later, a monk and a demon-slayer emerged from the woods to find her, sitting beneath the tree where InuYasha remained, unmoving. Instantly, her friends could see something was wrong, but they didn't question the poor girl. Kagome seemed in no condition to discuss the mounting troubles that brewed inside her. Miroku set about building a fire for the evening, and Sango sat next to her, arm draped over her shoulder, taking her into a sisterly embrace.
As the small flames of the campfire began to grow, Kagome lifted from the fog of despair long enough to look to Sango's troubled face. Her concern remained. "Where's Kirara?"
The demon-slayer sighed heavily. "We lost her. Naraku's insects attacked us, back at the battle. We took a bad spill and were separated. When we went to find Kirara, she'd vanished. We're pretty sure she came this way, but there's been no sign of her."
Kagome frowned, her concern deepening. "Shippo's gone too. While InuYasha was fighting that tiger demon. I don't have a clue where he might have gone."
They fell silent. As the girls sat there, watching him, Miroku took the liberty to take the pot, water bottle, and a few packages of ramen from Kagome's backpack. He filled the pot with water and set it atop three stones over the fire to boil. Then, he rose and moved over to the girls.
The silence seemed a worthy companion, Kagome decided, so she didn't ask about the monk's arm. It still hung in the makeshift sling that Sango had made for him, though he didn't seem to be in any pain. She was impressed that he had managed the feat of building a campfire with one good arm.
Their concern for their missing friends weighed heavily on their thoughts, but none dared voice that concern aloud. The peace of the night was so fragile, they felt as though it might shatter completely for the sake of a single question to which no one would have an answer.
InuYasha remained in the tree, throughout the evening, and well into the night. He didn't even come down for dinner when the ramen was done. Kagome wasn't sure what was going on in his head, but she feared she had an idea: that she had come to make him question their very relationship. If that was true, she feared she might be responsible for toppling their friendship.
No, InuYasha cared for her. He'd said so himself. He would always care for her.
She wondered, could he be questioning the decision for them to travel together? Would he ask her to leave the feudal era, to return to the future where she would be out of harm's way? Could it be that he was ready to make the choice that would separate her from her friends forever?
Kagome's heart ached. She didn't know if that was truly what he was thinking… but somehow she feared there were fewer days ahead of her in the feudal era than there were behind. She didn't want to leave her friends, to end her grand adventure, but if InuYasha asked…
Could she?
Standing, she lay her empty bowl aside, thanked Miroku for fixing dinner, and moved away from the fire. She lay out her bedroll and crawled inside. She knew she'd never be able to sleep this night, but the others were less likely to worry for her if she at least acted like she was sleeping.
"Where do you think Shippo and Kirara might be?" Sango murmured to Miroku, when she was certain Kagome could not hear her as they sat near the fire.
Miroku shrugged, poking at the embers of the small fire with a long gnarled stick. When he replied, his voice was as soft as his friend's. "Hard to say. There is definitely something very strange going on out here. The Hollow Wood is living up to its ominous reputation." He wiggled the fingers of his left hand and found that somehow, it didn't bring the pain he'd anticipated. The broken bone hadn't bothered him for some time now. He'd thought it had been the urgency of their situation that had distracted him from his injury, but now he wasn't so sure. He had time to focus on it now, and yet the pain had seemingly vanished. He decided not to voice his discovery. "I think we should remain focused on the task at hand. We have to find that demon tiger and take its jewel shard before it can bring more harm to anyone whose path it might cross."
"And Naraku?"
Miroku let out a soft sigh. "The tiger is a formidable foe in itself. With Naraku here, we must be prepared to face him. Should he show himself, of course."
He sat there, unmoving. Deep into the night, long after his friends below had drifted off to an unsettled sleep in the safety of their campsite, he brooded. His thoughts lingered on for what seemed like forever. Mostly, he thought of the time he had spent with his newfound friends, of the adventures and difficulties they had shared. And he thought of Naraku, of Kikyo, and how both fit into the jumbled mess that had become his life, since the time Kagome freed him from the Sacred Tree and accidently shattered the Shikon jewel. Now, he came to realize that he had actually come to enjoy life a lot more than he had in his early years. Even his time with Kikyo couldn't compare to the love of life that Kagome spread wherever she went.
But it was Kikyo that for so long had possessed his heart. Not Kagome. He had to protect Kikyo in death, as he had been unable to save her in life. He had to bring Naraku to his knees, to finish the bastard before he could bring more chaos and tragedy to the land. The only way he could save either was to kill Naraku. It would also honor Kikyo's name, her life and everything that life had stood for, to see this struggle come to an end.
He had once decided that it would be Kikyo that he belonged to, and not Kagome. Now he had another choice to make, and he knew there was only one logical decision.
If he took Kagome and the others with him to face Naraku, there would be no going back. He knew he had to go alone if he were to satisfy his promises to both Kikyo, and Kagome. With a deep breath, InuYasha rose to his feet and peered out beyond the forest, to the mountain peak where he was certain Naraku waited. With morning rapidly approaching, InuYasha decided that the time had finally come. He had to go.
Kagome didn't move, but she wasn't sleeping either. She could hear him shuffling about the campsite as she lay curled up in her bedroll. She held her breath, waiting. Whatever it was he was doing—she couldn't be certain what that might be—he was certainly being careful not to wake the others. All the time she'd spent in the darkness of the feudal era forests had trained her to listen for his soft footsteps and gentle breathing whenever he might be near.
Now, she was certain something was wrong. While he was being silent, he was also being swift. She dared not make a sound as he finished whatever it was he was doing, slipped quickly past her—stopping only briefly to glance her way—and then started off into the forest. Once he was gone, Kagome sat up.
Was he leaving them?
She thought about the way he had walked past her, the somber moment in which he stood and gazed at her, before vanishing from sight. Swallowing, Kagome slipped out of her bedroll, put on her shoes, and started off into the darkness after him.
She just had to be certain…
The trip was a brief one, just west and downhill along a thickly wooded path. She used her flashlight to pick her way through the darkness, praying by some miracle that InuYasha wasn't far away. To her surprise, after only about ten minutes, she stepped out of the woods to a large spring, lit by the somber glow of a crescent moon. He stood, silent, staring out over the heated spring, searching the trails of steam ascending into the night, casting a hazy screen over the starlit sky.
But what he was doing? Had he simply left the camp long enough to bathe, in an attempt to get his mind off of his troubles? She wanted to take a step toward him, to show him that she was there, and unafraid. InuYasha didn't need to see her to know she was watching him; he probably had sensed her following her before she even stepped out into the forest.
Maybe that was why he was waiting, she realized.
Her heart skipped a beat. He had turned her way and peered at her through the darkness, watching her with unblinking, emotionless eyes. Kagome swallowed, and realized then that she was afraid after all, that she didn't want to face him like this. She'd done a terrible thing, and her heart ached because of it. And yet, InuYasha didn't seem mad. He seemed oddly at peace.
A fresh realization seized her. It suddenly made perfect sense. It wasn't that he had forgiven her. Rather, he had made a decision, and he was at peace with that decision. Her knees buckled, and she leaned against a small tree to maintain her balance. She didn't need him to explain what had happened. Everything was pieced together, bit-by-bit, in her mind. Her heart continued to pound in her ears. It made so much sense, and her heart ached because of it.
Naraku's lingering presence, his poisonous insects. Kikyo's soul collectors. The tiger demon no doubt under Naraku's influence. It all made an eerie sense, and she didn't need to hear it in words to know that it was true. InuYasha had made the decision to leave, to face Naraku on his own. They both knew she couldn't follow; she could never keep up with him. She even understood why he had waited for her. He was waiting to say goodbye. The realization made Kagome's heart leap into her throat. Neither spoke. Nothing really needed to be said. It was all in the eyes, the look that they shared. Their body language told one another that they understood. In the end, they knew they would have to choose their own paths.
I'll follow you to the edge of the world, if I have to, her eyes said.
By the time you find me, it'll all be over, his returned.
"InuYasha," she mumbled, taking a step forward.
His expression hardened into a look that warned her to stay away, for her own good. Both knew she would ignore the warning. He turned and bounded out over the mineral pool, to the murky land beyond. Soon, he had disappeared into the darkness, leaving her alone. Even if she could get around to the other side, the bog beyond would be impossible to travel. She'd have to go her own way, and she knew it.
She shifted her gaze to the peak beyond the bog. A small mountain, some distance away. She wondered how far. Kirara could make up the distance in a short time. It would take hours for Kagome to come through to the other side. She swallowed. I'll never give up, InuYasha. I will always be there for you. Her breast rose, and she exhaled in a long, slow sigh.
After all they had been through together, InuYasha had left her behind, and she found that she couldn't blame him. She wouldn't let him run off on his own, but she understood his plight. It would take some preparation on her part, but she was determined to reach him before the end.
First, if she was to follow, she would have to wake the others.