Chapter Three: The Mockingbird

*Kagome looked up through her tears. What had he just said? Had she heard him correctly? But Inuyasha hated her.

“Why shouldn’t I?” She yelled, her voice hoarse. “You’ve hurt me for the last time Inuyasha! I sick of pretending that I can just take it easily. It hurts me! You can’t even imagine how much my heart aches because of the cruel things you say to me! I can’t deal with it anymore!” Kagome rushed to stand. She managed to get to her feet and ignored the pain that shot through her ankle and leg.

“Kagome, sit back down!” Kaede ordered instantly.

“No! I won’t put up with this anymore. Kaede, you were right. I have to choose between the two worlds. And, as much as I love you and Sango and Shippo and Miroku, Inuyasha hurts me too much. I choose to live in my world with my family. At least there I don’t have to worry about heartbreak by a hanyou!” She shouted. More tears fell, and she violently wiped them away.

Inuyasha just continued to stare at her. Was she serious? He knew she hadn’t liked his comments, but to leave because she hated them so much? Had he really caused the one he cared for so much that much pain? Guilt began to ebb at his stomach, gnawing away his icy wall. No, she couldn’t leave him! He needed her!

“Kagome?” Shippo and Miroku stood in the door to the hut.

“Good bye Shippo, Miroku. I’ll miss you.” Kagome quickly hugged them both. Then she hobbled to Sango. “Good bye Sango. Thank you.”

“Why are you leaving? Why now?” Shippo pestered her, tears in the corners of his eyes.

“Because I’ve been driven away Shippo. I know my place now. Inuyasha simply reminded me of it with his malicious and spiteful words!” Kagome shouted, now more angry than upset. She took one last sad look around the room, then made her way out of the hut and into the forest.

“Kagome, you can’t be serious!” Inuyasha finally regained his voice.

“I am! I can’t stand you any more Inuyasha! I can’t deal with it!”

“Kagome, don’t leave me!” He pleaded. She stopped.

“Leave you? Leave you? You expect me to believe that you actually care about me? Let’s face it, dog boy, you hate me. The only reason you want me is for the damn crystal. Well you can forget it!”

“That’s not the only reason I want you to stay!” Inuyasha screamed. He stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks.

“Oh?” She laughed sarcastically, and a lone tear trickled down her tear-stained face. “It isn’t is it? Then tell me Inuyasha! Tell why you want me to stay? Tell me why I should give up a world with my family for your world.”

“Because Kagome! You should!”

“That isn’t a reason!” She screamed.

“You honestly think you belong up there? In that time? Kagome, you are the guardian of the Bone Eater’s well. You belong here, in this time with us.”

“And my family?” She asked incredulously. He was telling her she wouldn’t fit in there so she should stay here? And let him break her heart farther?

“Kagome, forget them!” She stilled for a moment, and Inuyasha thought he might have convinced her. Then he heard a loud slap, and his cheek went numb. Letting go of her shoulders, he brought one hand up to his face. She had… slapped him…

“You pig!” She screamed with as much hatred as she could. How could she have fallen in love with him? He was a monster. It wasn’t his blood that made him one; it was his cold heart and bad attitude. She loved him, but this was too much, he went too far.

“Ka…” Inuyasha started.

“No! I don’t want to hear it! You’re twisted! Leave me alone!” She cried. He narrowed his eyes. She had slapped him for a simple suggestion, and now this? He didn’t see what was so bad about his suggestion anyway. She practically lived with them anyway. They were her family now, not the people on the other side of the well- why couldn’t she accept that? And now she was telling him to leave her alone?

“Fine! I will leave you alone wench! And don’t expect me to help you again. In fact, screw you. Kikyo never ran from her problems! Why can’t you be more like her?” He barked. As soon as he said the last sentence, he regretted it. He had just sealed his fate. In comparing her again to Kikyo, he had subjected himself to an eternity of her hatred.

“Fine.” Kagome whispered. “I’m sick of you Inuyasha. You sicken me. I told you, I’m not your Goddamned lover back from the dead. Sorry if I wasn’t the woman you wanted, but let’s remember, you’ll never have to see me again, so it doesn’t matter! Just remember one thing, hanyou: blood doesn’t make you a demon, only personality. And you’re the worst demon I’ve ever met. You don’t need the Shinkon no Tama, trust me!” With that, she gave him one final look, then turned and ran off towards the well. And as she ran, the last whole piece of her heart shattered into sharp shards of unimaginable pain. Her love was dead in her eyes… she would never love again.

Inuyasha took one final look in the direction she had gone, then turned on his heel and ran off in the opposite direction, not caring where his feet took him, as long as it was away from here. Inuyasha stopped when he finally tired and sat in the braches of a tall pine. Dusk was drawing near, and in the distance, he heard a noise. A sweet and purely innocent melody rang out, disturbing the silence. He had lost the love of his life because of his foolishness. That damned bird was laughing at him…

As Kagome wiped away the last trace of tears from her cheeks, she stood silently and regarded the well. All she had to do was jump into it and she would be home. Home for the first time in almost an entire year. Home where her mother and grandfather and brother were. Home where school was, where her old friends were, and where electricity made life easy. Home without Inuyasha. No, she wouldn’t think of that. She would think of it tomorrow. Right now she just wanted to go home. As she climbed into the well, the last noise she heard was a bird’s sweet song trilling in the trees above. Yes, she deserved to be laughed at by the birds.

>>>)(<<<

It had only been a week since Kagome had left, and already the full extent of loneliness had set into their small, tight-knit group. Shippo moaned and whined constantly about missing her, Sango had been unusually testy, Kaede and Miroku had been quieter than usual, and Inuyasha…

The half demon didn’t return to the village for three days after Kagome had left. When he did finally stroll into Kaede’s hut, he had looked horrible. His eyes had dark circles and bags beneath them from sleeplessness. His forehead was wrinkled with worry, his cheeks tear-stained, and his clothing and hair had been in disarray and dirty. Miroku had been the only one to help him though. The others had simply stared at him, glaring with angry eyes at the hanyou that had driven their good friend away.

Since then Inuyasha had sulked all day and night. Usually he would leave and moan to himself, but today it was pouring in torrents and even Kaede had had enough decency to order him to stay in the hut. Instead he sat in the doorway, looking out at the dreary landscape. Miroku took a seat next to the hanyou.

“How are you?” He asked.

“She left me.”

“Inuyasha, you drove her away.” Miroku sighed.

“How? All I did was call her a name!” Inuyasha moaned.

“Are you sure? You compared her to Kikyo, you teased her, you, in short, made her life a living hell.”

“I loved her.” Inuyasha quietly whispered.

“You…” Miroku’s eyes flew open. This was a new development. Never before had the hanyou said anything along this line about Kagome. “You loved her?”

“Loved her.” Inuyasha repeated dejectedly. “Loved.”

“What do you mean loved?” Miroku asked, trying to sort it all out.

“Loved! I liked waking up every morning and smelling her clean scent. I loved her attitude… so innocent, but she could be strong when times called for it. I loved the way she ‘sat’ me, the way her eyes flared when she was angry, I loved her. And she’s gone.”

“You loved her.” Miroku repeated again. “Why didn’t you tell her!” He yelled. “It would have kept her here!”

“I tried. I couldn’t. I told her I she didn’t belong there, that she belonged here. I told her to forget her family, and she slapped me. I don’t know why.”

“You told her to… well that was your mistake. She loves her family Inuyasha. She would miss her brother, her mother. If your mother was still alive, wouldn’t you want to be with her?”

“Of course!” The dog-demon snapped.

“Well there you go!”

“But…” Inuyasha let his mind wander. “She left because of me, didn’t she?”

“Inuyasha, why did you think she left? She left because she couldn’t stand to have you insulting her and her life any more. You know she loved you? Did you? She did. She loved you. And you just kept pushing it, kept hurting her. So finally she just gave up. You can’t keep hurting people you love Inuyasha. It doesn’t work that way. Eventually you lose their trust, and then you’re left with nothing and all alone. You took her for granted one too many times, and this is the result.”

“She loved me? She never said anything!” The hanyou jumped up.

“Neither did you.” Miroku pointed out.

“And now she hates me.” Inuyasha’s face fell and his shoulders dropped.

“Here’s an idea. Apologize. You never know. Maybe it’s not too late to save her love. Maybe you can win her back. And even if you can’t, at least you’ll know you can’t. At least you’ll know you tried to make amends.” Miroku suggested.

“Apologize?” Inuyasha’s eyes glazed over. “I’ll see you monk.” He gave a hurt nod, then dashed off, leaving Miroku in the dust.

“You were supposed to stay inside!” He called after the hanyou, smiling. Now they were getting somewhere.

“He go off to apologize?” Sango came up from behind Miroku. He put his arm around her waist.

“Yes. I only hope he isn’t too late. They could be so wonderful together.”

“What about his wish to become full-demon?” Sango laid her head on Miroku’s shoulder and frowned.

“Some how I doubt he cares anymore.”
“I hope they make up. I miss Kagome.” Shippo joined them.

“We all do Shippo, we all do.” Sango sighed. *

~~~Well, the next ch’s the last one, so the end is near! REVIEW S’IL VOUS PLAIT! Much love, Vixen~~~