Chapter Three

It was impossible to know what he was thinking. Kagome kept giving Inuyasha side glances when she thought he wasn't watching, but his expression was neutral. A few times she thought he looked sad, and then it would disappear as quickly as she saw it. What could she say? Inuyasha was ready to go back to his own era and he hadn't even asked her to return with him. Kagome thought he came here to ask for her to come back. He apologised, and that was it.

Inuyasha was the first to break the silence. 'Thanks for the food.'

'Thank my mum,' Kagome muttered. The air outside was cold, and she wished she had brought a jacket. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha again, this time asking the question that was on her lips. 'Inuyasha, do you want me to come back to the feudal era?'

'No.' Straight to the point. Inuyasha didn't see any point in hiding it like he does his feelings. Kagome would be safer here, where she belonged. 'I don't want you to get hurt. You're constantly in danger and-.'

But she had stopped listening. Kagome hugged her shoulders against the cool breeze. 'Just admit it is because of Kikyo.' She looked up at the starry night sky and smiled softly. 'I can't compete.'

'Not everything is to do with Kikyo. I need to protect you, too. And this is the only way I can see how.'

'I never asked you to protect me,' Kagome shot back.

'You'd be dead if I hadn't protected you so much,' he yelled back, fists clinched.

Kagome backed down, her voice barely above a whisper when she said, 'It'll be easier for you if I were.'

His ears caught what she had whispered. Inuyasha didn't know how to make her feel better. 'Kagome, that's-.'

Her hand shot out, giving Inuyasha a hard push towards the entrance to the shrine built around the well. There, her hand hesitated on his back before she pulled it away, stuffing it in the pocket of her trousers. Kagome met Inuyasha's confused and somewhat hurt eyes. She refused to show how upset she was, or how infuriating he was, so she tilted her head to the side and gave him a smile. Inuyasha's eyes only deepened more, until they were molten gold. It was easy to see that he didn't believe her act of bravado one bit.

Whether she liked it or not, Kagome didn't belong in his world. Inuyasha was destined to remain pinned to the sacred tree. Inuyasha was never meant to see Kikyo again. Inuyasha was never meant to meet Kagome. It was she who had changed his world, and now she was angry because he was going down his own path. Kagome was getting left behind. The way to fix this is to make sure their worlds remained separate. Perhaps Inuyasha was doing the right thing by telling her not to come back. After all, he could spend as much time as he wanted with Kikyo without worrying about Kagome. Not that he cared enough anyway.

Inuyasha whirled around, one foot still on the first step leading up to the shrine. 'What're you doing?'

'Making it easier for you. Inuyasha, go home.' She took a step back, and then another. Kagome kept her eyes on him the entire time, waiting to see if he would follow her.

That's when Inuyasha remembered a crucial fact. 'Sango has the jewel shards from your fight with Kikyo. That means-.'

'I can't come back,' she finished for him. 'Even if I wanted to.'

He only stared at the girl in front of him. She was as beautiful as the day they first met.

Kagome continued. 'It was fun. But I belong here, and I can't keep interfering with your life. Say goodbye to the others for me,' she added.

'But...' His words fell short.

Was this what she really wanted? Inuyasha knows how Kagome feels about him, but she could never understand how he felt about her. He was torn between the past and the present; one girl or the other. She must know by now how much of a hard decision it was to make, so was this her way of making the burden easier for him? Was Kagome sacrificing her own feelings for the sake of his? Would Kikyo do the same for Inuyasha? But she wasn't just giving up on never seeing Inuyasha again. Kagome knew she could never return to his world, or see her friends. Could a person really be so unselfish? Inuyasha could never deserve someone such as Kagome.

Inuyasha nodded stiffly. 'If this is what you want, Kagome, then I won't stop you. And I won't return. Goodbye.'

Tears welled in Kagome's eyes, and she didn't try to hide them when they rolled down her cheeks. 'Goodbye, Inuyasha. Take care of the others for me.' She gave a warm smile.

Knowing he was unable to embrace her one final time, because Inuyasha would never want to let her go, he only stared at the young woman before him. Kagome's hair was still tied back, showing her whole face, giving her nothing to hide. Her dark eyes were warm and deep, shinning with new tears. He would never see those brilliant round eyes smile again. He would never see the millions of expressions that ran across her face each day. He would never hear her voice when she was angry, upset, happy or irritated. And he could never touch her soft skin again.

Inuyasha's hand twitched, aching to reach out and wipe the tears from her face. But his eyes flickered down to her right leg, as if he could see the thin pink scar left by Kikyo arrow. Whether she was strong or not, Kagome has constantly been putting herself in danger, and for what? Her friend? Inuyasha? To regain the shards of the sacred jewel? He didn't want to see anymore scars on her beautiful skin, and he never wanted to hear her scream in fear ever again. Inuyasha knew none of this was on Kagome's mind. Her reason for not coming back was because of Kikyo. Perhaps this was a good thing. Now she could be safe from everyone-even Inuyasha.

Kagome shivered against the cool night breeze, and it broke Inuyasha out of his thoughts. He silently took off his red coat, stepped over to Kagome, and lightly draped it over her shoulders. His gold eyes met her questioning gaze and his heart missed a beat. How could he be so blind? This whole time he had taken her company for granted. And now that he was losing her, Inuyasha realised how much he cared for her. But there was no going back now. Kagome had clearly made up her mind.

'What are you-.'

'It's cold.' He glanced up at the clouds gathering in the dark sky. 'And at least you won't forget about me as long as you have it.'

She pulled the long coat tighter around her shoulders. 'Here.'

When Inuyasha glanced down at her open hand, there was something small sitting on her palm. 'A ring?'

Kagome blushed, unable to hide feeling a little embarrassed. 'I never take it to the feudal era because I'm afraid I'll lose it. My grandmother gave it to me when I was three. You can keep it.'

'So, this really is goodbye,' he muttered.

'Yes.'

Inuyasha picked up the ring. It was a silver band and a gold band intertwined, like two snakes curling around each other. It was beautiful, but so small. Kagome had pulled it off of her middle finger, but it would only fit on Inuyasha's pinkie. After slipping it on, he held out his hand to admire it.

'Inuyasha,' Kagome said softly.

'Yeah?'

She waited for him to meet her eyes before saying, 'Don't become a demon, okay?'

'Kagome...'

'Now go!' Kagome shoved him once more towards the shrine over the well. This time he walked up the steps, only turning back around when she called out, 'And don't forget to say bye to the others for me.'

He could only stare at her. Kagome was smiling as fresh, hot tears flowed down her cheeks. How could she do that? How could she smile through her pain? And why did it feel like she was putting herself through all this just for his sake? Inuyasha was right before. He had done nothing to deserve someone such as Kagome. Her life would be better off without him in it. Safer, happier, and easier.

Kagome watched with a heavy heart as Inuyasha turned back around and disappeared into the shrine. He closed the door tightly behind him with a soft thud. What now? She stood there, frozen in time, as the first snow of the season began to drift down from the sky. Unable to keep herself upright, Kagome sunk to her knees. The cold breeze was strong, but she was warm inside Inuyasha's red coat. She hugged it tighter against her body, unwilling to let go. Inuyasha was gone. He was never coming back for her. The thought was unbearable. Kagome knows she did it for his sake, so he could be happy with Kikyo. This was how it was meant to be. She didn't belong in their world. But if this was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong? Kikyo and Inuyasha are meant to be together, it's their fate. But what about Kagome's fate?

How could she accept this as her destiny? The answer was that she didn't. This wasn't how things were meant to turn out. Kagome's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed in determination. Kikyo can get screwed for all she cared, because Inuyasha belonged to Kagome now. It was Kagome who saved him from his eternal sleep, and it was she who has been in every battle with him, aiding and helping wherever she can. Leaving the snow and bitter wind outside, Kagome rushed into the shrine protecting the well. She threw the door aside and practically fell down the stairs on the other side.

When she reached the edge of the well, she flung her legs over and jumped. She's done this plenty of times before. But even as she did so, Kagome knew it wouldn't work. Without the jewel shards, she was just a normal teenage girl. No power. And just as she had thought, the ground met her quickly. Kagome cried out when her sore leg took most of the grunt of the fall. Kagome's tears of pain quickly turned into sobs of heartache. He was gone. Inuyasha, and her friends, were all out of her reach. And they weren't coming back for her.

Kagome leaned her back against the cobblestone wall of the well, curled into a ball of sorrow and sadness. She reached up to clutch Inuyasha's coat, but it wasn't there. Her eyes fell on it moments later, hanging over the ledge of the well, a few meters up. It must have caught on the wood and slipped off when she jumped down. The bright red of the material was quite the contrast against the dark oak of the well and the grey of the stone. And, to Kagome, it was a symbol of how close Inuyasha was without her ever being able to touch him again.

I hope I'm not completely sucking so far in writing about romance. Next chapter won't have so much-if not any-fluffy stuff in it.