InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Memories ❯ Stay. ( Chapter 3 )

Sorry for the slight delay. Here is chapter 3! Hope you enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: InuYasha does not belong to me.

Chapter 2 recap: He figures if she is going to leave him anyway, what is the harm in just telling her. He could get it over with and the embarrassment will be over. In one swift motion, he grabs her into a fierce hug. He hopes to feel her embrace one last time before she leaves him forever.

Kagome gasps at the sudden effection from the hanyou. He is hugging her. Why? Is he doing this to say goodbye? Or is he trying to say he wants her to stay? There is no way he could be thinking that. Right? What could he be thinking? She wraps her arms around him and puts her face in his chest. If this is their last time being this close, she doesn't want to waste it.

"No.. I want you to stay. With.. Me, Kagome."

0o0

Chapter 3: Stay.

Frozen in place. That's how both of them seem to be. Like time had stopped and they are the only two people left in the universe. Neither of them talking. Neither of them moving. They are frozen in a never ending embrace.

Those words. The unbelievable feeling those few words gave Kagome when they reached her ears. She doesn't quite understand though. 'No.. I want you to stay. With.. Me, Kagome." It keeps playing over and over throughout her mind like it's set on loop and she can't seem to pause it. 

After only two minutes of them hugging without anything else being said, Kagome pulled away slowly and looked into InuYasha's amber eyes. She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want to come to any conclusions yet. Not until she knows for certain what he meant by that.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

InuYasha's face grows red with burning heat as he realizes just what he said to her. 'Damn.' He thought to himself. He came off too forward and now she'll know how he feels. It's way too soon to tell her that. Even though they are technically mated, he needs more time. He decides to think about something else to say, in order to cover up what he truly meant.

"Umm. I mean, us. All of us. Miroku, Sango, Shippo.. I'm sure they would be upset if you were to go.." He was upset to have to put it like that, but she couldn't know how he truly felt about her.. Not yet.

Kagome had a split second where she showed her sadness. But as quickly as it came, she hid it apon a fake smile. "Right.. yeah. You're right.. I can't leave everyone.. else."

InuYasha could have sworn he saw sadness and disappointment when he had told her that. But then it was gone. He couldn't even sense any sadness. Either she was hiding it well, or she really was okay with him not wanting her there. He held his hand out to her to help her up off the ground, and handed her book bag to her.

When they stood up together, they just looked at each other for a moment. It was true. They are mates and Kagome is thinking of staying in this time. InuYasha doesn't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy that she is staying with him, but sad that she wouldn't be able to be happy with anyone else.

"So.. are you planning on staying? Here.. with everyone I mean." The more he spoke, the more awkward he felt. Why couldn't he just act normal around her. They have been friends for awhile. Sure, they had some moments where he would blush or say something too close for comfort, but he was never this bad about it before.

Kagome thought for a moment. She really wants to stay here. Not just with her friends, but she wants to be with InuYasha.. Like that could ever happen.. She also wants to see her mom, gramps, Souta and all her friends in her own time. What would happen if she just went back to visit? 'Great. More questions.' She slightly shook her head of those thoughts for now, and faced back towards InuYasha. "Yeah." She smiled at him. A genuine and happy smile. "I am going to stay with you.." Her face turns about as red as his haori and quickly covered up what she meant. "I mean. With everyone. I am not ready to go home."

Just a small piece of hope was all he needed. His heart swelled and his mind wondered. 'Maybe.. There is a chance.' InuYasha smiled back at her, turning around to allow Kagome to get on his back. 

Kagome climbed on top of his back with no hesitation. She loved riding him through the trees and feeling the wind blow onto her features. She felt free and alive. She hung onto his shoulders as they got closer and closer to camp.

..

Back with Sango and Miroku, things seem to be quite heated.

"Hiraikotsu!"

"Sango! Stop! I swear I don't know what happened!" At the moment, Miroku is dodging Sango's attacks while still dazed and confused.

They both had awaken about the same time, in the same sleeping bag. Neither of them seemed to remember what had happened but Sango just assumes Miroku was being a lecher, like usual.

Sango stops her attacks for a moment to look back at him with fire in her eyes. His hands up in front of him defensively. "How do you not know why you were laying next to me!?"

He shakes his head, still nervous about the fiery spirit in front of him. "I don't know.. But we aren't where we both were last night. Do you remember how you ended up over there?"

Sango thought for a moment. Then she lowered her weapon and confusion sank in. How did she end up over there. Last thing she remembered was setting up camp and eating with the whole group. She can't even remember going to sleep. She rubs her temples and looks back at Miroku. "N-no. I can't remember anything after we ate."

Before they continued, Shippo and Kirara walked up to them from there place near the fire. Shippo said, "How can both of you forget stuff? I remember everything." Kirara mewed in response as if to say she also remembers last nights events.

Miroku and Sango looked at him surprised. The longer it took for Shippo to say anything, the longer their impatience grew. 

"Well?!" Miroku decided to finally ask.

Shippo put a finger to his chin as if that will help him think, and he continued. "I remember after we finished eating, Kagome and InuYasha said they needed to talk. They both left that way." He points into the direction the couple had run off to. "I was sleepy so I curled up to go to sleep, waiting for Kagome to come back but she never did. When I went to sleep, you both were just sitting by the fire."

Before anyone could ask about Kagome and InuYasha, the two came out from the forest trees. They seemed to be slightly distant. They saw Kagome get off of InuYasha's back but then as they continued to walk closer to the group, there was a distance between them that hasn't ever been there before.

"Kagoomee!" Shippo wasted no time running towards the priestess. As soon as he jumped in her arms, InuYasha growled. 

InuYasha didn't mean to. He doesn't even understand fully why he did. He figured it has something to do with the mating between the two. He held back his demon feelings as much as he could but as he noticed Shippo sniffing Kagome, he grabbed the Kitsune by the tail and held him up in front of his face.

"What are you doing?" InuYasha bit back his anger as much as he could. Kagome just looked confused at the entire situation.

Shippo cocked his head in confusion and looked back and forth between the two. Even Kirara walked up to them and smelled the air before mewing up at them. Sango and Miroku were both confused but intrigued at what the fuss could be about.

Shippo said, "Kagome smells a lot like you, InuYasha." Sure, he was a demon, but he was still an orphaned child. He hadn't learned everything about demon customs yet. So what seemed like an innocent response to the kit, was slightly embarrassing for the couple.

InuYasha dropped Shippo immediately and turned his head from Kagome's view. Both InuYasha and Kagome are now looking away from each other and blushing profusely.

Of course this did not get passed the group of friends. Miroku just had to be the one to speak up. "Soooo.. You two left last night. Together. Come back this morning and Shippo said you 'smell a lot like InuYasha'.. So, how much fun did you two have?" Miroku starts to grin his lecherous grin as he looks at the blushing couple.

InuYasha is getting irritated. He doesn't even remember the events from last night. How is he supposed to explain to his friends that he and Kagome are mates? He can't just say it.

No, InuYasha couldn't.. But that doesn't stop Shippo from speaking his mind. Shippo's eyes widened when he realized what that meant. His parents had told him once about how they are mated. He didn't quite understand the whole process but he knew what it meant for the female to smell like the male. Shippo points and accusatory finger at the couple and exclaimed with no remorse, "You are mates!"

At that exclamation, the entire group stops talking. Silence throughout the entire forest was what it felt like. Nothing but the sounds of wildlife. Birds singing in the distance, crickets chirping around them. Now the faces of InuYasha and Kagome are as red as could possibly be.

Kagome feels her entire body heat up like she got set on fire. She has never felt this embarrased before. Her time with InuYasha, the time she can't even remember, being revealed to her whole group of friends by a child.. She can't even process it. All she knows is a group of eyes are staring at her and what follows is nothing but silence. She can't seem to say anything. Nothing is escaping her mouth and her head is blank. She decides to just turn and run. She doesn't know where, but she can't stay here right now. The last thing she heard was InuYasha yelling her name.

As InuYasha was unable to reply to what Shippo had said, he soon noticed Kagome had turned and run away. This snapped him out of his stupor and he turned quickly and yelled, "Kagoomee!" As he was about to turn and follow her, he felt someone grab his arm. He turned to see Miroku.

"Don't."

InuYasha growls in reply and his eyes flash red. This causes Miroku to back off slightly. 

"You can't just tell me not to follow her." InuYasha is trying to keep his cool. It seems the farther Kagome gets from his reach, from his voice, from him.. The harder his demon is getting to control.

Sango understands demons very well. She has been trained her whole life around demons. "InuYasha. I know you feel as though you need to be with her. You definitely don't want Miroku and Shippo to go, right?"

This confuses him. He doesn't even understand why he feels that way. How does Sango know? All he could respond with, was a low growl.

Shippo feels hurt and confused now. Sure he knew what mates were, but why can't he see Kagome? He was always able to be with his mother and his father didn't mind at all. He sees Kagome as sort of his mother figure and never wants to be apart from her. "Why can't I see Kagome?" He asked in a sad tone of voice.

Sango looked at the three and just said, "because you are not a girl." That's all she replied with, and she could see apon InuYasha's features that he now understood.

His demon doesn't want other males around Kagome, even though Shippo is just a child. He stares at Sango in disbelief because he doesn't want to believe what she is saying, even though he knows it has to be the truth.

"Let me go." Sango then spoke. She stepped closer to InuYasha as if she is walking on egg shells around him. Like if she is not careful, she could awaken something dangerous. When she sees his slight nod, she turns and runs in the direction of her friend, leaving the group of friends behind. Kirara just looks around and cocks her head at the entire situation.

..

When Sango found Kagome, she was in the same position InuYasha had first found her not too long ago. Sitting in front of a tree, Knees up to her face. This time though, she was crying. She could not control her emotions as tears freely flowed down her cheeks.

Sango didn't really understand why Kagome was crying. She understood the embarrassment her friend probably felt at the news of her mating being revealed in that way.. But why was she this depressed? There has to be something deeper to the entire situation.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" Sango kneals in front of her friend and lifted up her head. She hoped Kagome would talk to her. She always tells her everything. Why should now be any different? Except this whole situation seemed to be a bit different.

Kagome looked up at her best friend and immediately felt the warmth of her presence. She quickly wrapped her arms around Sango's back. "Oh, Sango. I don't know what to do!"

After a moment of allowing her friend to cry on her shoulder, she lifted her face to look back at her. "Kagome. Tell me. What's going on? I thought.. I thought you and InuYasha being together would make you happy."

Kagome looks away from Sango quickly. Yes, it's true. Being with InuYasha would make her so very happy. But that is not the situation they seemed to have gotten themselves in. They aren't together.. Not really.

Kagome decided to take a deep breath and look back at Sango. "The thing is.. We aren't actually together." 

This is not what Sango had expected at all. She has studied demon customs throughout her entire life and the only time she learned anything like that, was if a demon stole her as a mate. She thought harder and came to two conclusions.. Fury began to set in when she thought either InuYasha forced Kagome as a mate, or someone else tried to and he took her as a mate to save her. 

"Kagome, before I get too angry. What actually happened? Please tell me."

Kagome took in another deep breath and began her explanation. "I woke up next to InuYasha... not clothed.. I was shocked. So I got dressed and ran. When he found me, we sort of talked. He said this mark means we are mated.. the thing is Sango.. Neither of us remember what happened." She starts to tear up some more as she explained the details of this mornings events.

Sango was very surprised at that revelation. She thought two things that werent the case. Yes, she was happy that Kagome wasn't forced, but that just brought more questions. Her friends couldn't remember last night, just as she and Miroku couldn't either. She told herself she would think about that later. Then some answers came to her also. Answers that she assumes neither Kagome or InuYasha knew since they seemed to be avoiding each other. She smiled up at Kagome.

"What?" Kagome asked her. She is so confused. That seems to be the main feeling these days. Confusion and sadness.

"You don't quite understand how that mark works, do you?"

Kagome thinks for a moment. She tries to remember what InuYasha had revealed to her.

Flashbacks:

"I saw your neck as you turned your head. Kagome .. I .. Marked you.."

"I mean .. When we .. " He pauses, blushes and looks away before continuing. "When we .. got close .. I bit you." 

"When a demon bites his .. mate .. the woman is now eternally bonded with him."

"So, we are mates? .. Bonded for life?"

"Yes. You either have to stay with me as your mate. Or you can't have anyone else at all."

"But.. if you were to go home, Kagome.. Back to your time.. you could be happy.. happy with a human."

End Flashbacks

Kagome's face faltered as she remembers the last sentence of information he gave her. "InuYasha told me that we are bonded for life.. That I wouldn't be able to be with anyone else in this time but.." She paused trying to have the courage to say this next part. "But, I could go home and be with a human." A stray tear escapes her eye and before Sango could respond, Kagome continues. "Maybe I should just go home. InuYasha doesn't need me here.. He doesn't want me here. I could just move on and be with someone in my own time. That's where I'm meant to be anyway." She looks away from Sango, as this conversation gets deeper and deeper, her emotions are getting harder to control.

"Kagome. You don't understand. I don't think InuYasha fully understands either. He was on his own as a child, so that is understandable." Sango turns Kagome so they are looking back at each other.

"What do you mean?"

Before continuing, she thinks of how to tell her. It's not bad news, it just may be slightly surprising to her naive friend. "I mean.. You can't go home.." When she sees Kagome's face falter, she quickly continues. "Not that you can't, you can still go see your family, but InuYasha has to go with you."

Kagome's eyes widen at that information. Why would InuYasha need to go with her? He told her himself that she could go home and move on. Great, even more confusion. "What do you mean? Why?"

Sango smiles at her friend. "Because that mark is still there." She moves Kagome's hair out of the way to take a closer look. "And, it's not fading. It seems to be getting stronger, more pronouned. Shippo said he saw you two leave right after dinner. That was over twelve hours ago. The mark would have started to fade by now if.." She paused thinking of how to continue.

Kagome is getting really intrigued now. All morning, nothing but questions have filled her mind. No answers have been able to settle the confusion in her head and heart. Now, she is finally getting somewhere and Sango had stopped talking. "If what?" Hope is growing more within her heart then ever before.

"That mark would have started to fade if love was not involved at all. So if you go to your time without InuYasha, it could tear your soul apart."

'Great. Even more questions. Why must there be so many questions?' "What? So because I love InuYasha? He's stuck with me.."

Sango shakes her head in the negative and continues. "InuYasha has to feel something towards you that he is not telling you. He assumes you can just go home because he thinks you don't love him."

Now Kagome doesn't believe what she is hearing. Is she being told that InuYasha loves her? That cannot be true. She shakes her head of those thoughts and refuses to believe that. Not without the man himself telling her. "I'm sorry Sango. I don't think I can believe that without.. some sort of proof."

"Kagome.. The proof is there." Sango puts her hand up and slightly touches the mark. It has a slight glow of red and pink. InuYasha's demon aura mixed with Kagome's Miko powers. Sango smiles at Kagome.

"I don't know. Maybe I just need to hear it from him.. But he would never tell me that." Kagome's smile fades to a frown again. Just thinking of the future that she feels could never be. Then a frown turns into tears forming in her eyes as another thought comes to her. "What.. What about Kikyo?"

Before Sango could even respond, a new voice was present. "There is no Kikyo. Not to me."

Sango and Kagome both looked to the right and saw the man that was the main point in their entire conversation. InuYasha was standing there, slightly uncomfortable, but determination written all over his features.

Authors Notes: How was chapter three? Some more answers are being revealed and Kagome and InuYasha seem to be getting closer to the revelation they both desire. Please R&R, thank you!