Disclaimer - If you really want to hear me say it, I don't own Inuyasha.
Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha get into a fight, which leaves Inuyasha hurt and angry, and Kagome feeling guilty. But before she has the chance to apologize, Inuyasha gets killed in a fight while trying to protect her. Grief-stricken, Kagome returns to her own time, vowing to never return to the feudal era. But only two years later, someone looking exactly like the human Inuyasha shows up at her school. Could it actually be him?
AN: I promised it wouldn't take as long to get this chapter up, and it did. I'm so sorry! Please don't kill me. Anyways, here's chapter four. This chapter mostly revolves around Sango and Kagome.
I just want to say thank you so much for all the reviews! I love you all!
"Blah" - Normal Talking
Blah - Flashback
Blah - Thoughts
Chapter Four.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. This isn't happening, this isn't real. This is just a dream. I'm going to wake up, he'll be right there, looking at me like I'm crazy when I start crying hysterically. This is just a dream, any moment now, he'll say something stupid and I'll sit him. This isn't real. It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's just...
Kagome's tears fell to the ground as she sat with her back against the very tree where she had first seen Inuyasha. I'm not Kikyo!
Hey! You're not Kikyo!
He died for me! After all I said to him, after all I did...he died for me! He shouldn't have died that way, he should've gone down differently. No, he shouldn't even have died, he should still be here! I should be able to hug him, I should be able to laugh while he looks confused when he suddenly runs into a glass door. He can't really be gone.
Kagome's shoulders shook as her body was racked with heart-wrenching sobs. The sounds filled the forest, which was completely silent, as though it respected Kagome's grieving.
Sango approached Kagome, and sat beside her, wrapping the younger girl in a hug. Kagome clung onto her, as her tears came in a downpour. "He really is gone, isn't he? He's not coming back," whispered Kagome through her tears.
At first, Sango did not know how to answer. "Kagome..." She trailed off, unable to offer the comfort Kagome needed.
"I'm so stupid! If I hadn't gone off and insulted him, we would've never left the camp," cried Kagome, burying her face into Sango's shoulder. "We would've expected the demon, I wouldn't have been in trouble, and Inuyasha wouldn't have been..." Kagome broke off, her cries echoing eerily around the two. Kagome calmed down slightly. "Inuyasha wouldn't have been killed," she said, hiccuping.
"Kagome," snapped Sango suddenly. Startled, Kagome looked into the piercing eyes of the other girl. "Listen, it wasn't your fault. If I had been there earlier, then the demon would have already been dead when Inuyasha arrived. Or maybe if I had gone after you, instead of Miroku. Or maybe if Miroku had been more prepared, or if Inuyasha had been closer, or you had gone off in a different direction, the Inuyasha would still be here. There are so many possibilities of what could have happened. It wasn't your fault Kagome, it was all our faults. Even Inuyasha."
"If he was here, he would say you were wrong."
Sango smiled crookedly. "He would," she agreed, knowing all too well that Inuyasha would've said a lot more then just that.
The two girls sat in silence, both bringing back nearly-forgotten memories. Kagome shifted slightly as every instant she had spent with Inuyasha seemed to pop up in her mind. "How are Shippo and Miroku holding up?" she asked finally, wanting to shove the unwelcome memories away.
"They're fine," said Sango. "Physically at least. Losing Inuyasha has been hard on all of us. But we were all worried about you."
Kagome turned away, with her heart feeling like it had been torn in two. "Sango," she mumbled, almost incoherently.
"What is it Kagome?" asked Sango gently.
"I...I think...I'm going to go home."
Sango leaned back, and closed her eyes. She had wished this wasn't going to happen. Pressing a hand against her sweaty forehead, Sango spoke. "That's probably a good idea."
She waited, knowing only too well what Kagome was going to say next, but hoping, with a dismal hope that barely existed, that she wouldn't say it.
"I..." Kagome bit her lip, as a few loose teardrops rolled down her cheeks. "I'm not coming back."
It seemed as if time itself had frozen at Kagome's words. Neither girl made a movement. No breeze tickled the leaves that clung to the surrounding branches. No birds took flight with their throaty calls. No shouts from the nearby village was heard. There was nothing.
It remained this way for what seemed to Kagome to be an eternity. Her head was throbbing as a distinctly painfully headache arrived full force. Her eyes were blinded by the tears that no longer fell. Her heart seemed to be pounding hard enough to split a diamond. Still, there was no sound.
Kagome welcomed this, though she dreaded the moment when Sango finally did speak. Usually, Kagome loved sound. Loved the reassurance that her friends were alive, and well enough to argue playfully with one another. She loved the creepy noises she heard from strange creatures that prowled the night. But today, she met the silence with relief.
Her thoughts traveled back, to when she had first fallen into the well. If she had known what would become of her adventures, would she have continued? Would she have not gone near the well? What would she have done?
What would I have done? If I hadn't met Inuyasha, he wouldn't have been killed. But if I hadn't been there, wouldn't he still be pinned to the tree?
Kagome loved Sango, she loved Shippo, she loved Miroku, she loved Kirara, she loved Kaede, she loved the Feudal Era. But without Inuyasha, it just wasn't the same. Nothing here was real. It was just...wrong.
She had known what she needed to do. She couldn't stay here, not without Inuyasha. She would return to her own time, where she really belonged. She never come back. And with a feeling of blunt satisfaction, and overwhelming grief, she made a vow out loud so the forest and all its creatures could hear. She would never come with Inuyasha gone.
"I hope you're happy, Kagome." Sango's quiet voice shattered the stormy silence. "That's what I want for you, to be happy."
Kagome faced Sango, with a new look on her face. The old Kagome determination was there, but the grief remained in her eyes. "I'm never going to be as happy as I was, Sango. Not ever. But...this place, this time reminds me too much of Inuyasha. It'll be better back in my time."
Sango stood, and brushed herself off. "You don't call your time home," she observed sadly.
"No," replied Kagome stiffly. "My time is not my home. It is where my family is, where some of my friends are, but it is not my home."
"Kagome," said Sango softly, stepping forwards and placing her hand on the girl's slim shoulders. "Why do you return to a place you do not consider home?"
"Because..." Kagome looked down at the ground, unable to face Sango's piercing gaze. "Because there I will be able to forget. The pain will always be there like the dull ache of a wound, but...I'll be able to forget most of it."
"You want to forget us?"
"No!" said Kagome sharply. "I don't. But if I remember, I think..." she moved away from Sango, whose hand dropped to her side. "I think I would kill myself."
Sango's startled gasp sounded out from behind her. "Why?"
"Because this is my home, Sango," whispered Kagome, tears once more welling up in her eyes. "This is my home, and I love it here. But without everyone, I'm miserable. And I can't go on."
She whirled around, the sobs escaping from her lips. "I'm going back!" she screamed. "And I'm never returning here! Ever!" Kagome shook in a furious rage, her hands clenched into fists. And then, as suddenly as it had come, the anger melted away, and Kagome sank to the ground. "I'm never coming back," she repeated dully. "Ever."
As the two girls sat in a comforting embrace, the forest remained silent.
xxxxx
Heh heh. This is more of an angsty chapter then a hurt/comfort, but...oh well.
You know what I'm going to say. Please review!