InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Hearts and Crushed Dreams ❯ Just One of Life's Lessons ( Chapter 7 )

~Chapter Seven~

.:Just One of Life's Lessons:.

 

Inuyasha scuffed his feet in the dirt path on his way back through the village. He was aware of the twinkling of the stars and the moon sinking from view beyond the horizon. The sky was getting lighter as he stared at his feet making marks in the dirt.

The scent of Kagome and tears hit him hard. His heart started beating wildly as he started sprinting for the small hut.

She saw us… me and Kikyo…

What if she already went through the well?

That would mean never seeing her again…

As his thoughts raced almost as fast as his heart, he burst through the door of Kaede's hut. Kagome was still there. She looked up from her packing and into his eyes. The look she shot him almost killed him. He had never seen her so hurt.

Oh, no…

She stood without missing a beat and forced her way around Inuyasha. She wasn't going to listen to him.

This isn't good…

“Kagome, listen to me.” Inuyasha said as she started making her way towards the well.

“No. You could have just told me you wanted to see Kikyo. I wouldn't have stopped you… but you… you…” she couldn't finish her sentence as her tears choked her again.

He winced at the smell of her tears and the shaking of her shoulders as she walked faster towards the well only a small distance away. “It's not like that, she just wanted to tell me-“

“Oh, shut UP! Okay? I already know you love each other. No need to elaborate for poor, little, stupid Kagome,” she interrupted. She whipped around with tears spilling down her cheeks, but a fire was burning in her eyes.

“You're not stupid.” He stared at her and tried to plead with his eyes. She didn't buy it.

“AUG!” she screamed as she resumed walking down the path.

“No, wait!”

She ignored his request as she reached the edge of the ancient well.

“Stop!”

Kagome jumped over the wooded siding of the ancient Bone Eaters Well.

Inuyasha couldn't just watch her leave. For him and for her; if she did this now, she would regret it later, he had absolutely no doubt. He jumped in after her, desperately trying to grab something on her; anything on her. They reached the bottom of the well; Kagome a little out of his grasp.

The time slip opened right before his eyes. Before it closed he had to get through with her. As he swiped and grabbed at her bag the time slip closed and swallowed Kagome.

Inuyasha hit the ground hard. He made an imprint in the ground with his face. He didn't care. She was gone… forever.

The stinging in his eyes returned and he leaned against the side of the bottom of the well. Tears began pouring out of his eyes. He didn't care anymore.

Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT!

He was too busy screaming at himself in his head to notice the curious villagers leaning over the side of the well staring at the top of his head. He looked up to see Kaede leaning over along with multiple villagers.

Kaede couldn't mask her surprise as she noticed his tears streaming freely down his face covered with dirt.

Inuyasha groaned in embarrassment as he guarded his eyes with his left hand so no one could see his distraught face. He fell on his behind and leaned against the side of the dry well.

She's gone… kept running through his mind faster and faster. He got on his hands and knees and started to dig. The moist dirt stuck under his claws as he savagely tore up the floor of the well. He was running on sheer determination now; his head had all but given up, but his heart hadn't.

Inuyasha fell into despair as he made the well five feet deeper. There's no getting to her now…

His fingers had started bleeding after coming across sharp rocks and pebbles wearing away at his skin. He sat down once more and stared at the opposite wall of the well.

There's no getting to her now…

 

 

As Kagome's feet touched the ground with the warm time slip closing behind her, she quickly tried to dry her tears. She didn't want her family to see her this way; Kagome had cried more tears in the past three days than she had in the past year.

She sat down on top of her yellow backpack which she always had with her when she went to the Feudal Era. Kagome rested her elbows on her knees and supported her head with her hands.

She stared at her scuffed, black shoes as her blurry vision cleared. The last of her tears slowly made their way down her chin, dangled for a second, and then dropped into the cool earth below.

Preparing herself to climb up and out of the well she was pretty sure she was ready for the questioning gaze of her mother.

Mrs. Higurashi always tried to be there for her children and always tried to understand. She never missed it when Kagome had a sad look in her eyes even with a smile on her face. She never missed a beat when Souta came home from school in a huff with hurt pride and a skinned knee. That was her job; to be there, no matter what.

She knew she couldn't shield or protect her kids from the evils of the world and she knew they had to make their own mistakes. She would be there to lighten the heavy load on their shoulders.

The death of Kagome's father made her grow up quicker than she ought to have. When someone, human, youkai, or hanyou, encounters a huge shock to the system and are given huge hurdles to jump over, they are forced to mature. Kagome had changed in only a few short months after her father's passing; she was kinder and gentler, and learned a great deal about the world and life's lessons.

Kagome entered through the front door, trying not to make much noise; after all it was almost dawn. She slid the thin door open and stepped in the house. Kagome slipped off her shoes and put on her pink slippers sitting by the door. After observing her life long home, the pictures hanging in the hallway, the familiar carpet and paint, the comforting smell of home, she tried to make a quick dash for the stairs. She walked past the living room and hurried past the kitchen, hoping her mother was still in bed.

“Kagome? What are you doing home so early?”

She winced as her mother's soft voice came from the kitchen door frame. She slowly turned around to face her mother. Mrs. Higurashi was still wearing her bathrobe and slippers, her hair was ruffled and her eyes were still clouded over from sleep. Kagome plastered a bright smile on her face, and hoped it didn't look as hollow as it felt. “Hi, Mama. I was just homesick; I- I missed you.”

“Uh- huh…” she replied dubiously.

She's not buying it… she continued smiling and nodded.

“Come on, you don't think I'm that thick do you? What's wrong?”

Kagome couldn't keep smiling at the thought of Inuyasha and Kikyo, her friend's mangled bodies' cold in their graves. The corners of her lips tugged into a frown and she looked at her mother. The tears were closing in again.

Mrs. Higurashi saw her daughter hesitate and instantly knew something was definitely out of line. It was strange enough for her to sneak into the house before dawn, but when she also tried to hide her pain in the process, something was really wrong.

“Kagome?”

“Mama…”

Her mother didn't need to know anything more; she opened her arms and approached Kagome. Her daughter nearly leapt into her arms and Kagome's tears instantly were soaking through her bathrobe.

She stroked her head and just stood there with Kagome until she was ready to talk. Kagome's shoulders stopped shaking and slowly her tears turned into hiccups.

“I won't make you tell me what's wrong, Kagome, but I need to know you'll be okay,” said Mrs. Higurashi.

“I'll never be okay! Miroku, Sango, and Shippo are dead, I caught Inuyasha and Kikyo by Goshinboku and my heart has burst into so many tiny pieces, I don't think I'll ever be the same!” Kagome nearly screamed and her tears resumed their place in her eyes.

The surprise was evident in her mother's face. She quickly recovered and took Kagome back into her arms, “Oh… Kagome, I'm so sorry…”

“…I-I want t-to go to bed n-now…” was all she could manage at the moment. She pulled away from her mother and made her way up the stairs before Mrs. Higurashi could protest. Kagome turned to the door on her left and turned the doorknob. She shoved the yellow bag into her closet and quickly pulled on her pajamas. She threw back her covers and all the while, crying.

Inuyasha… Why?