InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Escape ❯ Responsibility ( Chapter 13 )

Responsibility

Kagome was on her knees when she arrived in her time. She stared down at the dirt, her

vision beginning to blur. Have you ever felt the betrayel of not just one person you trusted,

but two? It feels as if you don't have a friend left in the world. Which was exactly how she was

feeling at that moment. She brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. *I'll cry later,

not now. If Mama sees me crying, she won't let me go back. But, will I go back?* Kagome

stood up and climbed the ladder to the top. When she got to the doors of the shrine, she

wiped her hand at her eyes one last time and tried to put a smile on her face. She opened the

door and stepped out.

Her mother didn't sense any change in her and she enjoyed a family dinner, the first in a few

weeks. When Kagome laid her head on her pillow she looked into the dark. An hour ticked by,

then two. Sleep wouldn't come. Finally she gave up and buried her head into her pillow,

sobbing the night away.

Her alarm rang, and for a second she thought she was back in the past. But opening her eyes

made her see her familiar room. And her school uniform. Her eyes felt tired from all the

crying, but she felt a little better. Good enough to go school. Kami knew she needed to catch

up, but, it would also prove a distraction. To keep her mind away from other things. Her

friends greeted her cheerfully and Kagome dug into the schoolwork she had missed. Working

hard to keep her mind off of yesterday, she found herself slowly, but surely, catching up.

Despite the happy exterior that Kagome put up, her friends could see it was strained and they

took her to a burger place to talk.

"Kagome, has your boyfriend done anything to you? You look sad!"

"What boyfriend." she muttered.

"Ah! So you finally broke up with that jerk! That's great Kagome! Now you can go out with

Hojo!"

"What are you guys talking about? Kagome and her boyfriend are in love!"

"No, I am, he's not. He just went back to his ex-girlfriend. Can we talk about something else?"

Two of her friends were happy, the other was upset. But they could see the subject was closed

and chatted about the latest happenings at the school. When Kagome walked home, she half

expected Inuyasha to be at the shrine, asking why she was late. But the only image of him she

could see, was in her mind. And she had no visitors for a week. By the time the weekend

came, Kagome could feel the heavy burden of responsibility again. Her duty. She needed to

fix what she had made wrong. But she had no one to travel with. She could not travel with

Inuyasha, she knew what her life was worth with him. And it seemed it was not worth enough

to save. And Sesshoumaru....out of the question. *Maybe I can travel by myself. I could use

that barrier that came up last time, but how did I do it? I kind of, took a bit of my soul,

and...yeah, maybe I can travel by myself. If I keep up the shield at all times, nothing can hurt

me. And with my arrows, I could kill the youkai* Later on, Kagome went out in the courtyard

to try to conjure up the shield again. She closed her eyes and reached down into her soul,

bring it up to the surface. And when she opened her eyes, she could see a purple shield

surrounding her. She smiled, she knew what to do now.

She had everything she needed, food, clothing, and so forth. She had already said goodbye to

her family and was at the well. Looking down, her courage almost failed her, but duty pressed

her to jump. When she arrived, she quickly put up her barrier. Climbing out, she saw Sango,

Shippo, and Miroku. They all ran to her.

"Kagome-chan! You were gone so long."

"Kagome! I thought you were never coming back."

Kagome let down her barrier and hugged Shippo and Sango. Miroku was thoughtfully looking

at Kagome.

"Kagome, may I ask how you made such a strong barrier?"

"The shield is a part of me, my soul."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. *Her soul is that powerful?* Before he could comment, Kagome

stiffened and her barrier went up again. Inuyasha arrived at the well.

"Kagome."

He tried to reach out and touch her but the barrier pushed him away.

"Miroku, Sango, Shippo, I'm sorry, but I must leave. I will find the shards on my own."

"Kagome, what if you get hurt?" Sango cried out.

"Don't worry, my barrier will take care of that. I'll see you again, when the shards are all

found."

Kagome was walking away when Shippo ran to her.

"Kagome, wait! Take me with you! Please!"

She looked down at the little kitsune.

"Shippo, this is something I must do alone. But I'll come back. I promise."

Shippo looked into Kagome eyes, and knew he couldn't stop her.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She let her barrier down one more time to hug the kitsune. As she was leaving Inuyasha ran

in front of her to stop her.

"Wait, we can't find the shards without you."

"It is my responsibility, as you have reminded me every day. So I will find it alone."

"Why can't you search with us?"

"My life would be in danger with you."

"No! I'll protect you!"

"I know how much my life is worth, as you have shown a week ago. I trust myself to stay alive

now, not you."