Chapter 4:
Separation
"I'll do it."
Kei nodded mournfully and Inu Yasha's eyes snapped open. His head exploded with pain. Tenderly, he rubbed the back of his head, feeling a dampness in his hair. Removing his hand and bringing it to his face. His own blood tipped his claws. Grimacing, he tried to ignore the pain and push himself to his feet. Faltering once, he finally rose and shakily started towards where Kagome's scent led.
Her tears run their course, Kagome remained in her slumped position before the river, her face in the dirt. She was well aware of what she had done, and unable to reign her thoughts any longer, the reason of the intense guilt she felt rose to her mind.
You love him… her heart whispered. Shaking her head in a futile attempt to deny it to herself, she listed her own protests, as she had told them to her friends. Not too wild… not too full of himself… not to angry… not too stubborn… and is always understanding. In short, any guy who's the exact opposite of Inu Yasha.
Except… maybe, he was exactly what she wanted, and those things were not true. Wild, of course, but she liked that far better than the predictable Hojo back home. and he wasn't really full of himself, not always. Sometimes, during fights, he protected her before worrying about his own life. The same with angry… he wasn't always angry, but the times he was, she couldn't blame him. The circumstances of his live allowed him to be no other way. Stubborn true, but his stubbornness had slowly melted into a determination… a determination that she was always by his side. And he wasn't understanding for the basic fact he couldn't comprehend the importance of her life in the future. Which was partly her fault for never taken the time to truly help him get it.
It was undeniable… not only was Inu Yasha exactly what she wanted, even if she had to read below the surface to find it, she was hopelessly and desperately in love with him. Closing her eyes, she banged her fist upon the ground, starting when the ground exploded beneath her hand.
Her eyes flew open and she sat up, glancing from her hands to the ground and back again. It was the same power that she had unleashed when she fought the centipede demon, as well as whenever she shot an arrow. Except now, all she had done was bang her fist. Spreading her hand palm out, she concentrated her power on a single tree, trying to gather as much energy as she could force from her palm. Thoroughly shocked when the recoil forced her to the ground, she was awestruck when she kneeled to view the damage.
The entire forest front had been destroyed, the few remaining tree long meters away. She gasped, never expecting she had so much power under her control. A sudden realization hit her. Only since she had become half-demon had she been able to use so much power.
Another gasp, this one not from her, drew her attention. Slowly she turned and saw Inu Yasha slouched behind her, his mouth agape in astonishment.
"Ho… how? Did you do that?" He demanded, turning his eyes to meet hers. Kagome nodded dumbly. Swiftly moving to her feet, she walked cautiously towards the edge of the destruction.
"This is because I'm hanyou, isn't it." It was a question, but one he didn't need to answer. His silence was enough of an answer, filling her with dread. Her thoughts before were lost to the sudden anger that flooder her mind and she turned on him. The demonic temper that she had before scolded Inu Yasha for not controlling, and that she had no experience with, so was even worse at handling than he, spun out of control.
Her golden eyes flashed with unreleased anger, taken out on him only because there was no one else to direct her rage at. Her brow narrowed.
"This is all your fault." She said in a cold voice, although, deep down she knew it wasn't and that she only needed a release.
Inu Yasha froze, unsure what to do now that she was mad at him again. He searched his mind in a futile attempt that somewhere he knew how to handle an angry half-youkai. It didn't help that he was unsure to handle himself half the time.
She flew at him and he stepped back, but not soon enough, her hand caught his sleeve and it exploded with the same power that had destroyed the forest. The action was so much like when Kikyou had been brought back, only much stronger, that something finally clicked back into place inside Kagome's mind. She let go of Inu Yasha, allowing him to back father away from her and stood still where she was, breathing heavily, her face hidden from view behind snowy white bangs.
Inu Yasha stood a few feet away, watching her shoulders rise and fall in rhythm with her breathing. The same thought had occurred to him and he wondered if that was why she had stopped. He hazarded a step forward, his hand paused, half-way away from his side. It took him only a moment to realize that she wasn't out of breath, but crying.
"Kagome?" His tone held an edge of wariness, but mostly was filled with concern for her.
Her hand came up and wiped a tear away, but she said nothing. Her tears proved that she lacked a strength Kikyou had, but tears alone didn't contradict that they were both filled with the same vengeance.
It took her completely by surprise when, caution aside, Inu Yasha wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. A soft gasp escaped her lips before Inu Yasha silenced her with his own.
"You're not at all like Kikyou…" He whispered, pulling away a moment later. Kagome's eyes widened, but then she frowned.
"Is that… good?" She ventured, dreading the answer if it was no.
Inu Yasha smiled slightly and nodded. "That's very good."
Kagome beamed and pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss Inu Yasha. The one thing she feared was that she had become a resurrected soul back for vengeance. Leaning forward to kiss her back, Inu Yasha didn't know just how right he was. Not only was Kagome's body an actual body, unlike Kikyou's of ashes and grave dirt, but the emotion that held her soul in that body was love, not hate.
All too soon, Inu Yasha pulled away from her, backing out of her tight embrace. His expression was regretfully, which intensified to guilt when he saw her hurt expression. But it had to be done. If he stayed with her any longer, he wouldn't be able to leave at all. Nor could he risk staying with her and admitting words he wasn't ready to tell her.
"I have to go now…" He said, unable to think of anything better to tell her, anything that would dull the pain without revealing too much.
"I'll go with you." There was a gleam of mistrust in her eyes, that he would tell her no.
"You can't." Saying nothing more, he turned and walked away from her, through the destroyed expanse of forest.
Kagome frowned, watching his retreating form. "Inu Yasha!" She called. He didn't stop, so, taking a small step towards him, she continued her plea. "Inu Yasha! Please! I love you…" Her voice lowered on the final part. She knew he could hear her, despite the growing distance, and knew he did hear her when he paused.
Inu Yasha's eyes widened and his head raced. He had always has some indication she liked him, but always refused to believe it was nothing more than a minor attraction. Chewing on his lip, he continued on, not ready to answer her.
Kagome's eyes narrowed as Inu Yasha walk farther from her. "Damn you, Inu Yasha! You fucking hanyou! For once I'm honest and you just walk away." Her vision clouded with tears. "Obviously everything you said was a lie." It was too late, he was already gone, except this time, she refused to cry. If he didn't care, then she wouldn't waste her tears on him. Turning around, she took off in the other direction.
Behind a tree, Inu Yasha turned to watch Kagome flee. He wanted to go after her, but he couldn't, not without the Jewel…
