This wasn’t fair.

It was all his fault.

It didn’t feel right.

How could he let this happen?

He should have been by her side!

Now she was dead!                                 

Inuyasha woke up in a dry sweat as he looked down toward his friends underneath him. He swiftly jumped down, he glanced side ways to glance towards Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. He smirked as he saw Miroku subconsciously rubbing Sango’s butt while she was snuggling against his chest. Both were using Kirara as a pillow when she was in her bigger form.

He crept silently towards Kagome’s sleeping bag. He bent down to see Shipo tucked under the blankets while being snuggled by Kagome.

“Lucky kid,” He thought slightly jealous as he bent down, leaning his elbows on his knees. The flickering lights of the ongoing flames from the fire used to kick their dinner was still lit. He stared at Kagome’s face, to him it looked beautiful. The flickering flame offsetting her face perfectly. Well, in his opinion anyway, and he’d punch you if you’d made a comment saying the opposite of what he thought.

As a lock of dark hair fell in her face he reached his hand foreword and brushed it away. His hand lingering on her face as his lips turned up into a smile. He then brought the hand on her cheek and brushed her hair lightly. Kagome’s nose crinkled slightly but then she let out a yawn and snuggled Shipo closer towards her.

Inuyasha, at the moment, really wished he was in Shippo’s position.

Inuyasha stood up and was about to creep back as silently as possible towards his semi-comfy post when something bright in the forest. He got prepared into a fighting position, silently daring for it to come over, when it moved, he just stood transfixed staring at it. His hand dropped completely from the his sword’s handle.

It was one of Kikyo’s soul collectors.

He just stood there, unsure of what to do. It floated in a circle. When it looked him in the eyes, Inuyasha knew instantly that it was sent there to retrieve him. As it started to fly away, he did what instinct told him to do.

He followed it. Rather noticeably and noisily.

He didn’t care, he just had a feeling that Kikyo wanted to see him for something rather important or urgent if sent a soul collector to get him. Once Inuyasha was out of the camp ground, the slight noise woke Kagome.

“Inuyasha?” Kagome mumbled, sleep evident in her tone. She moved out of her sleeping bag so she could prop herself up and rub her eyes. Her eyes looked around before they immediately looked toward the tree branch she remembered Inuyasha posting himself on.

She looked around the camp site, everything looked normal. Shippo sleeping peacefully, Sango and Miroku sleeping close together. Kagome rolled her eyes when she saw where Mirkou’s hands were placed on Sango’s body.

“At least I know that isn’t some Miroku fake,” Kagome thought. She slid out of her sleeping bag. Stretching her hands over her head she looked around the grounds wondering where Inuyasha could’ve wandered off too. When she looked towards the near by stream, she gasped when she saw a stray soul collector. She watched silently as it picked up what looked like Kikyo’s hair ribbon. That’s when she realized something.

If she noticed it, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Inuyasha hasn’t already. Kagome was in tears, she silently grunted in frustration as she wiped the tears that escaped her eyes.

As she looked ran after the soul collector, her mantra the whole time was “Whatever I see, I shouldn’t care. He loved her first, I’m only second.”
--

As Inuyasha walked after the soul collector, it finally stopped in a clearing. With the other soul collectors, there she was.

Kikyo. And she didn’t look like she wasn’t in very good condition by the way she was limply lying against a tree. Her body was slightly soaked and her hair was lose out of her normal hair tie.

“Kikyo, what happened? Are you all right?” Inuyasha asked worriedly running to Kikyo’s side. She opened her eyes as she smiled at him.

“Yes, I am fine,” She said tiredly. Inuyasha held Kikyo’s clay made face. As Kikyo reached her hand to the back of Inuyasha’s head. “I am surprised you came.”

“Surprised?” Inuyasha asked, “Why would you be surprised?”

“Because you do not care for me like you once did,” She explained, “You care more for my reincarnation.”

“Kikyo, you know I still love you,” Inuyasha said not denying what she said wrong. Kikyo noticed this, but just went along, not wanting to push Inuyasha away. She smiled weakly up at him. Inuyasha brushed her wet hair.

“What happened anyway?” Inuyasha asked. Kikyo looked ashamed.

“My soul collectors have not been able to get me new souls lately,” the priestess started, “I have been weaker, almost unable to protect myself from weaker demons. I fell into a stream. I was lucky that my collectors were able to get me out of the water before I went unconscious.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but it was the less. Inuyasha found it hard to believe that if the soul collectors couldn’t retrieve souls they were able to do much then die, but in the state she was in. He was too worried to about her current state then about her story.

Kikyo’s soulless eyes looked behind Inuyasha for a moment, before Inuyasha could turn his head to see what was behind him, Kikyo pulled his head foreword. Both of their lips colliding. Inuyasha gave a slight groan, and leaned closer towards her.

The moment for him was ruined when he heard a heart breaking gasp and running.

He knew it was Kagome who made that noises.

And it was then, that he realized he was tricked when he ripped his lips from Kikyo’s and saw Kagome drop Kikyo’s hair ribbon on the ground as she ran off at full speed.
--

Kagome ran after the soul collector when it suddenly dropped the ribbon near the entrance of a clearing. Her eyes widened and hid behind a tree. She watched them, unable to hear a word. She tried to ignore the sting in her heart when Inuyasha’s hand went to Kikyo’s cheek. She also tried to stop the heavy feelings of, what felt like, her heart breaking when Kikyo placed her hand behind his head.

When Kikyo’s eyes meet her own. She shivered, it felt like Kikyo was looking right through her soul. What happened next, finally broke her heart right down the middle, when she witnessed Kikyo pull Inuyasha’s face towards her own.

Her heart finally broke in two when she saw him kiss back. When she noticed he was pleased that Kikyo was kissing him in the first place.

Did she really mean nothing to him? Was she just a replacement for Kikyo until he was with her?

It was then that she realized she couldn’t take it anymore.
She was tired of being second place in his heart. She was tired of seeing him look at her occasionally like he was seeing through her, like she wasn’t even there. She was sick and tired of it.

It was then that she realized this one simple thing, Inuyasha never really truly loved her. Only Kikyo. It was only Kikyo he loved, and will always loved.

It was also then, that she realized that she had to get over him.

She couldn’t take this reality. It was all too much. So she did what was simple.

She ran.

Even when she heard him yell for her to come back. She just ran away. Because to her, it felt like her world had finally fallen apart and she had entered the cruel real world. The world, she figured, was a cruel scary place.

It was then, that she also realized, that figuring things out sucked.
--

“KAGOME!” Inuyasha shouted. He was going to run after her, apologize for what happen. Beg her to forgive him. Do anything to make her stop crying. Anything to make her not be angry at him.

He was barely a step away when he felt Kikyo’s hand snatch his arm and hold into it tight.

“Why do you continue to go after her?” Kikyo asked. “Why do you not stay with me? I have never realized why you still go after her.”

“Because,” He said. He dumbly stood there trying to figure out why he did this. Why does he continue to go after her? He asked himself. Over and over. It felt like hours when in reality it was minutes when he finally realized the answer.

He loved her. He loved her more than Kikyo. He didn’t even notice that all this time he was traveling with Kagome, he was falling more in love with her, and out of love with Kikyo.

He noticed, that the only reason he clung on to Kikyo, was because she was the first person beside his mother to show him compassion. He was just clinging on to her. Inuyasha ripped out of Kikyo’s grip.

“I love her,” Inuyasha mumbled. When Kikyo looked blankly while Inuyasha bravely looked right back.

“What did you say?” Kikyo asked. Her voice didn’t contain anger. It sounded more like a request than anything else.

“I love her,” Inuyasha admitted louder, “I used to love you, but I just… don’t anymore. We had something. It ended. And I’m sorry, but I love Kagome. I’m sorry.” He grunted unwillingly. He didn’t want to say it, but he had to set it straight.

There was silence. Inuyasha looked at the ground while Kikyo just stared blankly at him. Soon she opened her mouth.

“Then why the hell are you still here?” She asked bluntly. Inuyasha just looked at her with a shocked expression. Kikyo just looked back with her usual monotone expression until she finally let out a bitter laugh.

“I get you don’t love me anymore, but you should go after her before you lose her,” Kikyo commented nonchalantly. Inuyasha just left without a word in the direction Kagome went. Kikyo watched him leave.

“Hope he doesn’t mess this up,” Kikyo mused.
--

Sango moaned as she shivered from the cold. She grudgingly opened her eyes with a groan. Everything was blurry. She yawned as she stretched out before opening her eyes completely. After squinting her eyes, she noticed Miroku sitting next the fire that looked like he had rekindled it.

She stood up to walk over to him and then took a seat next to him. He had a worried forlorn expression on his face.

“What’s the matter, Miroku?” Sango asked her voice gruff from sleep. He looked up to the fire and looked at her sheepishly. Not really noticing that she had woken up.

“Nothing to worry about, Sango,” He answered wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Sango looked at him not believe a word he’d spoken.

“You are worried about something,” Sango murmured lowly, she looked around the area to notice that besides Kirara and Shipo, they were alone. “Where are Kagome and Inuyasha?” The demon slayer asked. Miroku sighed.

“I noticed one of Kikyo’s soul collectors in the area,” Miroku told. Sango sighed and laid her head on Miroku’s shoulder.

“I hope everything turns out okay for the two,” Sango remarked closing her eyes. Miroku nodded and placed his head on top of Sango’s.

“I do too,” Miroku agreed.
--

He couldn’t find her anywhere. He couldn’t barely smell her with the coming of the new moon. He cursed being a half-demon especially the night before the new moon. He leaned against the tree, propping himself against it with his arms in front of him. He continuously shouted curses.

Why was he such an idiot? Why couldn’t he learn to appreciate the things in front of him like other people seem to do?

After leaving a dent in the tree, he started sprinting in another direction, there wasn’t point in giving up. He wasn’t going to stop searching until he knew Kagome was safe.