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Chapter 10: Goodbyes Are Always Hard

"That spider is Naraku?" Inuyasha stared at the arachnid, dumbfounded, as it tried to escape from Kikyou's hand.

"Indeed it is" Kikyou cupped her two hands and went to the closest tree. The moment she opened her hands, the spider crawled up the bark as quick as it could. Kikyou watched it's progression with curious eyes.

"I have been waiting for this day a long time" Kikyou sighed, "It has been so long since I have felt so free"

"Free? You want to talk about freedom?" Inuyasha questioned suddenly taken with anger, moving Kagome aside as he advanced on the blue eyed witch, "From what I remember you were the one who kept me in a cage in the dark. What do you know about being trapped?"

For a moment Kikyou said nothing, she didn't even face him. Inuyasha growled, his ears flattening against his head. That's what he thought, she had no idea what it was like.

"There are many different kinds of barriers, Inuyasha Tetsagia. Physical, emotional, and spiritual. We all have our cages we carry around in our hearts and minds. True freedom is very rarely found. I may have taken your physical freedom away, but my cage is not made with iron bars"

Kikyou slowly turned to look at Inuyasha, a sorrowful tint clouding her pale features. She looked so fragile and faded. Inuyasha almost couldn't recognize her as the spell experimental crazed witch from before.

"I wasn't always a witch. Long ago I was a young woman who was deeply in love with a man by the name of Suikotsu. I planned on getting married and raising a family outside of my home village" Navy blue misted like fog overcoming a lake as old dreams shimmered in those orbs, "However, on the night he died, everything in me died along with him. I became angry and scared all at once and I swore to never feel human emotion again. I exchanged my humanity for the power of a witch"

Kagome teared up at the older woman's explanation. She understood exactly what Kikyou must have felt, knowing that her fiancé was taken from her. There had been many times Kagome had wished not to feel anything, but those negative feelings could never end.

'Oh, Kikyou it must have been so hard for you' she sympathized.

"What does that all mean? What does that have to do with anything?" demanded Inuyasha, clearly missing out on what Kikyou was saying. He didn't want to understand her story, not after what she did to him.

"Inuyasha" Kagome reprimanded with a snap. How could he be so rude when Kikyou was pouring her guts out.

"This jewel is the source of my power because it holds the very essence of my spiritual self. A body cannot be without a soul. The jewel contains my soul so that I may live well beyond my years. When held in another's hands, I am at their mercy. Naraku kept me bound to him and tied me to this world just when I was finally coming to terms with dying. Now that I have my jewel back, I can pass on freely. For that I thank you, both of you"

Bowing her head, Kikyou turned to leave. Inuyasha was silent as she moved to the forest line, lost in his own thoughts. Maybe had been wrong about Kikyou from the start, but how else would he have known about her predicament when she had treated him so badly.

"Wait! Kikyou please. I need to ask you something" Kagome called, grabbing Kikyou's attention right away as well as Inuyasha's. The human girl bit her lip as she tried to think of the best possible way to express her worries.

"Last year, everyone made a terrible mistake to believe Naraku's lies. Many people close to Inuyasha were devastated at his death. Now that I know he is alive, I want him to come back with me, but I don't know what to say about his absence or this unique appearance" she rushed to explain.

Kikyou tilted her head in consideration. She should have known that this would have come up in their meeting, after all it was her fault that the boy was cursed. Unfortunately there was no counter curse.

"I do not know what to tell you, but Inuyasha will never change from his half demon state, never become a whole human. The spell I used was that of a very ancient one and I could not find the scroll that would negate it. I am sorry, but at the time I was desperate to find a way to get the jewel from Naraku, the implications of my actions were lost on me" she apologized.

"That's all you can say? I'm sorry, but I was desperate? You ruined everything you bitch! I never did anything to you!" Inuyasha snarled, baring his fangs. Before any of them knew it, Inuyasha was standing in front of Kikyou shaking her aggressively. Kagome didn't like seeing her boyfriend act so feral and ran over to help dislodge him from Kikyou, but Inuyasha was stronger as a demon.

"Let her go, Inuyasha! You're hurting her! Stop that!" commanded Kagome trying to reach him vocally.

"Why should I? She didn't care when she turned me into a weird dog freak!"

"Inuyasha, stop this before you do something stupid!"

"I don't care!" he yelled, shoving Kagome off him, three of his claws scratching her arm in the process.

Kagome winced when the talons scraped into her arm, a sob escaping her lips when she felt something akin to fire shooting down her arm. At first Inuyasha hadn't realized what he had done until Kagome lay on the ground bleeding heavily from her injury. Kikyou was released from his grip and watched as Inuyasha dropped to the ground to soothe the sounds of pain Kagome was making.

"Oh gods. I'm so sorry, Kagome. I didn't mean it" He rambled rocking her back and forth in his arms, trying to calm her down. The cuts were deep and Inuyasha didn't know what to do. He couldn't believe how he lost it like that.

Kikyou knelt beside the two, ignoring the warning growl coming from Inuyasha. Spreading out her arms, Kikyou mumbled a few words and warm rays of lilac light flowed into the cuts on Kagome's arm. The fire in Kagome's arms cooled like a compress had been laid out upon her aching appendage. Kikyou, moved away so that Inuyasha would be more at ease and not frighten the younger girl. Taking deep breaths Kagome made sure to reassure her half demon boyfriend that she was no longer in any pain.

"Inuyasha I'm fine, really. It's over, see" she tried to show him the healed marks, but his eyes were shielded by his silver bangs. Knowing that this was his way of telling her that he felt shame, she pushed back his bangs. Inuyasha's amber gold eyes locked with brown, smiling weakly when she cocked her head and grinned up at him.

"Yeah, but how many other people would I hurt if I was in town? Face it Kagome I don't belong along normal people anymore" he gruffed, folding his arms.

Kagome's eyebrows scrunched in thought. She knew what Inuyasha was getting at. He was afraid to hurt other people if he lost his temper and with the way some people acted it wasn't all that hard to lose control. Well then if he wasn't going back with her than she had no choice, but to follow him.

"Then I don't either" she stated, with a determined nod.

"You can't say that. I'm going alone"

Kagome deflated, shocked at his blunt answer to her statement.

"Wh-what? But why?" she questioned, hurt by his words. Did he not want to be with her as she did him?

"Don't you remember what it was like when everyone thought I died? My mom is so clinically depressed that she's in the hospital. My dad spends all his time working and visiting her. Think how your family would feel when you went missing without a trace. What would happen to them or my cousin and that pervert? No Kagome, if I go, I go alone. I'm not taking you with me"

Kagome blinked down her hot tears and tried to stop her quivering lips. She had done enough crying and she wasn't going give in again. She was going to remain strong for whatever was about to happen. She swallowed down the sticky lump in her throat to speak.

"So... that's it? All this... for nothing?"

Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to look at her.

"Yeah it was"

"Then I guess this is goodbye" she bit her lip, rising to her feet along with the boy who would once again disappear from her life forever. Her legs felt like cold jelly and she almost feared falling over at her legs' unstable state.

Inuyasha took her right hand in his clawed and stroked his thumb across the skin. Kagome flung herself onto Inuyasha and buried her face in his shoulder, the dam behind her eyes broken and flooding. She didn't want to be strong alone, she wanted to be strong with him by her side. However, that could never be. She supposed that she would remain weak for the rest of her life.

"At least... this time... I get... to-to.. say... goodbye" she sobbed.

Inuyasha hugged her back, smelling the strong scent her hair and rubbing small circles on her middle back. He would like to think that wherever he went he would come back for time to time to see her, but deep down he knew he wouldn't. He doubted that he could handle seeing her with someone else. Once was enough.

"I got to go, Kagome" he whispered, close to her ear.

"I don't want you to" she whispered just as quietly, giving one final attempt to keep him with her.

"We can't always get what we want, ya know"

Sniffing Kagome pulled away, wiping her red cheeks of drying tears. Taking shuddering breaths, she stepped back and fidgeted with the bottom of her shirt. Inuyasha bowed his head and turned, his bare feet feeling chilled by the dewing grass.

Moonlight shined down on the edge of the forest, bathing everything with a dim glow. The trees swayed slowly to the rythmn of the faint breeze. No noises could be heard, but the rustling leaves, fluttering on the branches. Kagome watched as Inuyasha walked away for what would be the final time.

From a far off observer's point of view the scene looked like one out of a tragic fairytale. A fairytale where two lovers, who had been through many trials and tribulations to find one another, parted ways because they could never be together.

From a observer's point of view it was the perfect tragic ending for an angst-filled story.

Thank God this isn't the case!

Kikyou had seen and heard everything between the young couple. She admired the two of them even more. If she had been given a second chance with Suikotsu would she have the emotional power to leave him again, to give up the other part of her soul.

"I am surprised Tetsagia, that you would give up so easily on returning to society when you spent so much time trying to escape me" she said, looking down at her folded hands in front of her.

"Keh, you're probably happy you can have your guinea pig back, witch" he scoffed, his lips quirking in an attempt to stop himself from snarling.

"Do I now? What exactly makes you say that?" She asked in fake curiosity, her face devoid of emotion. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Kagome started walking towards town.

"Aren't you going to just take me back?" he questioned back, without any trust in his voice.

"No, I don't need you anymore now, that I have my jewel back. However, I wonder why you suggest such a thing"

"I don't exactly fit in with normal people. Besides, you saw what I did to Kagome. I'm dangerous" he replied.

"I would have thought you learned this by now, Inuyasha" the blue eyed witch shook her head slowly, sounding like a mother amused by her child's foolish plans in catching Santa Claus.

The dog demon gave her a confused frown, amber eyes narrowed and pointed ears slightly turned sideways.

"Everyone has the capability to be dangerous. Everyone has the capability to harm another physically or otherwise. Scars can heal Inuyasha, especially the ones on a body. Just because you lashed out at Kagome in a moment of anger and fear does not make you a dangerous animal. You would hurt Kagome a thousand times more if you left her forever"

"Still wouldn't matter, Kagome needs to be with other people and I can't be with her when people would freak out" pointed out Inuyasha.

"Your friends Miroku and Sango seemed to accept your new appearance readily enough. What makes you think other people won't as well?"

"Wait a minute! How do you know about them?" Inuyasha demanded, knowing he never once mentioned the two.

"I have been watching you since you escaped Inuyasha. Didn't I tell you that I was desperate to get my jewel back? I was not about to waste my opportunity in learning how you planned on to take down Naraku when you learned about his betrayal" she explained easily.

"I must admit, that I never completely expected you get so far in a short matter of days. I think that you deserve a reward for all your help, whether you knew about it or not" Fumbling with her upper robe sleeves, Kikyou pulled out the tiny glass jewel from within.

"Give me your hand" she ordered and before the stubborn teen could argue she took it within hers. Squeezing her slender hand, Kikyou held the jewel above Inuyasha's wrist.

What was once sealed

I now freely give away.

May his true nature be revealed

In a human form to portray

Drops of a pale lilac color dripped onto Inuyasha's wrist emerging with the skin. Inuyasha instinctively jerked, but Kikyou held on firmly. Tanned skin brightened like a glowing light was radiating inside, covering his body. Kikyou released him and stepped back in waiting.

Inuyasha panted and dropped to his knees, not in pain, but in shock. It wasn't like before, where it felt like he was ready to burst. He simply felt like his was in warm bath water. It was relaxing and calm.

When the feeling disappeared, he shakily shook. What the hell was that all about? Kikyou nodded her head in approval.

"I thought it might work. I am proud to say that the spell worked. You look just as human as the day I cursed you" she said, sounding pleased.

Looking at his hand he could see what she was talking about. Sure enough there were no claws protruding from his fingertips. A fistful of inky black hair further reassured him. Inuyasha was human again, but for some strange reason he still felt as he did as a demon.

"You may appear human, Inuyasha, but you are still a demon hybrid underneath. I gave what was left of my human life so that you may walk around the human world without alarming anyone"

The poor boy was stunned speechless at first. She had really done that for him? Inuyasha actually looked like he was ready to hug the witch, if he weren't busy looking over his shoulder for Kagome. Wait until she saw him!

"However"

That one word made Inuyasha freeze. He should have known that there would be a catch of some sort.

"During the last week of every month, you will take on the appearance of your demon self every night. Is that clear?"

"You make it sound like I'm a werewolf or something. Will I start acting one" he said it half jokingly, but there was worry in his sentence.

"No, my spell is only an appearance" Kikyou smiled, "I wish you good luck with your life Inuyasha, may you always be blessed with loving family and friends"

"Thank you Kikyou"

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