InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I'm Still Here ❯ The More I Want You To Stay ( Chapter 2 )

I'm Still Here

Chapter II - …The More I Want You to Stay

“Kagome,” a worried voice chided. “Kagome, wake up…”

Blue eyes fluttered open as Kagome frowned. She couldn't see anything. Why couldn't she see anything? “Sango?”

“Hai. You fell asleep and I found you here. Come back to the hut, it's not safe out here…” Still half asleep, Kagome nodded as memories of her day started to catch up with her. `Inuyasha…' She winced at that particular memory.

As she followed Sango to the hut, slowly taking control of her thoughts, she managed to ask, “Is Inuyasha back yet?”

Sango hesitated. She wanted to tell her friend that he was here, just so she'd relax already, but she knew Kagome would want to see him; and besides, her friend would be very mad at her in the morning.

“No,” she sighed. “Be he will be back by morning. Don't forget that he thinks you're in your time right now. Sleep, for now.”

Kagome wanted to protest, but was too tired. Instead, she let her friend help her lay out her sleeping bag and curled up inside it. She fell asleep with an image of her hanyou in mind…

XX

Miroku was sitting next to the fire when Sango woke up the next morning. She silently walked over to him, sitting in front of him. They nodded at each other, attempting to smile. With only a glance at his posture, Sango could tell he was as worried as she. “He came to me for advice a few days ago,” Miroku said. Sango's head snapped up, her eyes meeting his, as she nodded for him to continue. “He wanted to ask Kagome out on a `date' - I assume Kagome has told you about those things…” When Sango nodded again, he continued. “He said he really wanted to go on a date with her, but didn't know how to ask.” The monk smiled fondly at the memory. “I told him to ask her, simply. He didn't seem so…convinced. I think Kagome really crushed him yesterday…”

Sango nodded, tears filling her eyes. “You don't think he's coming back, do you?”

Miroku looked up at her, staring in her beautiful chocolate orbs for a second. No, he didn't think Inuyasha was coming back. Miroku knew all about heartbreak, and being rejected by the woman you loved. And even if Inuyasha was stubborn, and wanted to retrieve all of the shikon shards, he couldn't just waltz back in, without this same fear of rejection.

“I don't know, Sango…” he answered finally. “We'll have to see.”

They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, each pondering the depth of the situation, until Kagome finally woke up and joined them. They both stared as she sat down next to Sango, her eyes glued to the flames, lost in her thoughts. She didn't say a word, didn't even nod at them. Miroku wondered if she had even realized they were there.

Shippo didn't try to sit in her lap, or ask for any chocolate. Sango didn't protest when the girl from the future didn't want any breakfast.

And most importantly, no one mentioned Inuyasha.

XX

Hours went by slowly as Kagome sat under the Goshimboku tree. It made her feel safe, reminding her of her hanyou. A soft sigh left her mouth as she rested her head against the trunk of the tree. She twirled the pencil she was holding between her fingers, reading an old entry in her journal”

“Yash pulled a fit again, today. We were walking near a river, and Kouga came by, of course. As usual, he held my hand, and all that. Inuyasha seriously got mad this time. Something about my being in heat? I swear, sometimes I feel like I'm a female dog. So, I went to talk about it with Sango…”

Kagome's eyes misted as she remembered the particular conversation with her friend. They had talked about mating, and other youkai terms and actions. Sango had interminably joked about Kagome and Inuyasha `mating'. That was when she'd learned what a `bitch' really meant for an inu-youkai. She sighed at the memory, flipping the pale pages of her diary to open a fresh, new one, and writing the date. She then moved the pencil to the first line and oddly, the words flew from her mind, into her hand and onto the paper, as she wrote, and wrote, and wrote. She was almost tempted to close her eyes and let the words flow, but didn't want to ruin her journal. She had started it a few days after meeting Inuyasha, and it was full of wonderful memories - happy and sad. She kept it well hidden, disguised as a math book (she had written “MATH” on the cover) so that Inuyasha was never tempted to look inside.

It seemed like hours had passed when she stopped writing. She had went on and on about how stupid she was, had babbled about the argument, castigated herself, worried about where Inuyasha was and whether he was coming back - all on paper - until she had filled up pages, and pages. Every page was stained with tears, until Kagome believed she had cried herself dry.

And surely, after long hours, around dinner time, she was feeling a lot better, having convinced herself that Inuyasha thought she was still in her time, and that he would be back a few days later. He couldn't be mad at her forever - right?

And so, to Sango's great pleasure, Kagome finally headed back to the hut. She helped her with dinner, gave Shippo some candy, listened to Kaede babble about her herbs, and even watched Miroku hit on Sango. She smiled to herself, wondering why she had freaked out so much over what seemed to be nothing.

Later in the evening, when Sango had taken her to a warm bath in the hot spring, she had explained her situation to her while they were undressing.

“So I think we should really worry in a few days, only,” she stated. “He's mad at me and needs some time to himself. If he doesn't come back for me, he'll come back for the shards.” Kagome swallowed hard. Would he, really?

`Of course he will!' She yelled in her head. `Why wouldn't he? It was just a fight!' But it wasn't; she had already figured that out, hadn't she?

Sensing her friend's discomfort, Sango turned to her. Kagome still hadn't stripped of her school uniform, and Sango was still wearing her inner yukata. Thankful that they were both still quite dressed, Sango pulled Kagome into a hug, where Kagome closed her eyes and sobbed.

“I'm trying to c-convince myself that it will all b-be fine…” she struggled to say. “But who am I k-kidding, really?”

Sango's eyes softened, as she patted Kagome on the back softly. Inuyasha couldn't leave them, could he? Sango had always seen him as an alpha-type male, a pack leader. He wouldn't just leave them and give up, she was sure of it. He would come back, at least to continue the search for the shikon shards. She understood very well how much Kagome had hurt him, but also knew that as much as Inuyasha was hurt, he loved Kagome - or at least her presence. He would come back. He had to. “Don't worry, Kagome…” Sango soothed. “He'll come around, trust me.”

Kagome nodded, pushing herself out of the hug gently. She had always been this way: when someone gave her a hug to comfort her, she relaxed, and let out all of her emotions. That was why she dreaded hugs sometimes; she was afraid to break down and cry.

She slipped out of her clothes and into the hot water. It had been two days since she'd seen him - since the morning of the previous day. In the morning, it would be around 48 hours. It was alright for him to be away for two or three days… He should be back about four or five days later… They would only go looking for him after that period of time, she decided. `But he'll be here by then,' she reminded herself as her eyes closed and her body relaxed. It was just so different since she knew he was mad at her…

XX

AN: My loves, I'm so terribly sorry!! This chapter was meant to be posted a WHILE ago, but I didn't get the chance to, and then I had computer problems… So here it is, late and short, but I figure I had made y'all wait enough.

I'm deeply sorry for everyone who reads this and who appreciates Inuyasha more than Kagome… bear with me, guys. This isn't all Kagome related. How would it be an IK if it were? 0.~

Thanks & answers to…

Axel720: Thanks sooo much. I realize that this plot has been used a lot of times before, but I really hope mine will be different! Thanks for the feedback!

TrinityK: Thank you!! I'm glad you like it, and that you get the emotions I was trying to push through. ^_^

Caitriona: Thanks for the review! And yes, she did step into a lot of shit…