Greetings, minna!

I'm actually responding to reviews! Can you believe it? O, and a lot of people who reviewed most recently said I was being evil, cuz I had so many reviews already. Here's the deal: I didn't before I posted my note. So ya, I'm not entirely selfish! I can't believe how many I have now!!! Well, not many at mediaminer, but all u peeps at ff.net are sooooo wonderful!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silver Dragon: Well, ya she's depressed. Fate had written that those two would be soul mates, but they were in the wrong time. Hence, she lost her soul mate at age 16 (I decided).

Beady: Dude, ur a Californian, aren't u? Californians rock!!!! (if u r not, then in using that term (dude), u r mocking me, and I will be upset. We lack a culture or accent of our own out here, and that's all we have!) Anywhoo, yes, I do use lots of cliffhangers. But on my other story, when I didn't use one (entirely) at the end of a story, 3 peeps reviewed and told me it was a nice story, but the ending sucked & I should write a sequel. -.-;;; (that goes for all of u who complained about cliffhangers!)

Sandra: Bookworms rule!!!! I am a total bookworm!!! I'm honored to be #3! Thank you! *eyes fill with tears* And the Japanese word for fox is kitsune. ^.^

Well, those are all the ones that asked me ?s, so there u go!

Oh, and lots of peeps told me that I should write, even if no one likes it, if I really love writing. I love writing, but, well.. I'm a people person. I love writing things that people like. As a matter of fact, I don't care if you don't like it, as long as you tell me so, and how I can make it better! That's where the joy of it lies for me! But now, everybody says they like it, so I'm happy!

A lot of peeps wanted to kill me for putting Inu with Kik still…I'm sorry, minna! I hated doing it!!!! But the fic's not over yet….

Love Will Have Its Way

Chapter 5

'There is no help in all the world for me! There's no help in the entire universe! Don't you get it? All my friends, my love, my happiness, everything I worked for… It's all lost to the past! It's not coming back!'

Over and over it played in her mind. There was no escape for her; her past, her heart, and her soul were all locked away in the past, leaving her with only remnants of what she used to have. That statement seemed to sum up everything she had in her!

If only she knew how wrong her statement was…

She had finally made it home. Her mother, was on the phone, but Kagome didn't even notice. She just went running up to her room, pounding up the stairs and slamming the door. She ran at her bed, burying her face in her pillow. The blood spilling off her knees was starting to stain her white bedspread, and her hands were burning where she had scraped them. Of course, all of this was nothing compared to the horrible pain in her heart. He was never coming back.

She heard her mom drop the phone and come running up the stairs as fast as she could. She came bursting through the door as though she had expected it to be locked, and seeing the blood on the bed spread and her daughter shaking rather violently, began to panic. Had she come too late? She ran to Kagome, and turned her forcefully over.

"Kagome, please, no! Don't… Oh my gosh, your ok!" Suddenly, an already traumatized Kagome found herself being embraced by her mother's vise-like arms. "Your teacher called, and she said she was so worried… She was afraid you were going to do something drastic! I was afraid! Please, Kagome, never ki- it's ok Kagome, everything will work out!" Kagome's mother continued to fret over her, more gently now. Kagome was too tired from crying, running, and remembering to even say anything. She listened to her mother for awhile, but soon, everything started to way down on her. She could feel a darkness coming, and slowly, she let it come. She wouldn't feel any of this pain there… After another moment of her mother's relieved babble, Kagome passed out into her arms.

Yet even in the darkness, she couldn't escape:

He was there. Holding Kikyo. Telling her how much he loved her. Apologizing for toying with her heart by being with Kagome for so long.

"It's ok, Inu-yasha. You couldn't help it. She's gone forever now, so it doesn't matter! We can be together forever! Of course the little bitch had to take the Shikon no tama with her, so you can't become human with me…"

"But that's ok! I can defend you better this way! Not that you really need it though. You know how to use your powers. Not like Kagome. She was such an idiot!"

"But she's gone now! It doesn't matter!"

"It never really mattered!"

Kagome tried to protest. Inu-yasha had told her that she meant so much to him, and had tried to make her stay away from the final battle with Naraku! He had thanked her afterwards, while she was tending his wounds, for everything that she had given him.

But her voice fell on deaf ears. It was like when Kikyo tried to take Inu-yasha with her to hell while Kagome was tied to a tree. No one could hear her! Not even Kikyo…

Kagome looked down at the ropes that bound her now. They were actually chains, binding her arms, legs, and throat?

"Why are you binding me? He's lying! He's lying!!!"

The chains glowed, and a voice arose. "You created us. You know that all of this is true! Why should we let you stop it?"

A look of distress crossed Kagome's features, and she looked back at Kikyo and Inu-yasha…

…just as Inu-yasha claimed Kikyo's mouth with his own. It wasn't just a little kiss, either. It was deep, passionate, and full of love. It was the kind of kiss that she had always wanted. Kagome struggled, trying to get away from the chains, trying to stop this! It had to stop!

"Inu-yasha! Inu-yasha, how can you do this to me? Inu-yasha! No! Please, no!"

Mrs. Higurashi sat by her daughter, whom she had laid out on her bed. Her knees were bandaged and no longer bleeding, but by the expressions claiming her face, Mrs. Higurashi could tell that her heart was another matter.

Suddenly, tears started leaking from her daughter's eyes, and she started mumbling. The words broke Mrs. Higurashi's heart.

"…Inu-yasha…how…No! Please, no!!!!" Kagome was nearly screaming now, and Mrs. Higurashi started stroking her face, trying to calm her down. Kagome seemed to take comfort in her touch, and relaxed as her dream faded.

Sota, having heard his sister screaming, opened the door a crack.

"Mama?"

Mrs. Higurashi turned towards him, and he opened the door a little more.

"Is Kagome ever gonna get better?"

Mrs. Higurashi thought for a moment. She wanted to tell him that yes, of course she would! But she couldn't lie to her own son.

"I think so…" But she didn't sound like she did. Even Sota could tell. His face fell, and he looked like he might cry.

"Tell ya what: why don't you go downstairs and order us something to eat? I don't feel like cooking tonight, and Ji-chan is visiting a friend. You can get whatever you want!" The little boy's eyes lit up a little bit, but that trick didn't work very well anymore. Sota was growing up too, and he could tell what she was trying to do.

"Ok."

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When Kagome came to, it was getting dark. She heard someone close the door to her room as the front door opened. She guessed that the doorbell had woken her up, and that her mother was just leaving her room to go see who it was, even though Sota had answered it already.

Kagome sat up and looked at her knees, now modeling some stylish bandages. But Kagome hardly noticed them. She hardly noticed anything, for that matter. She just felt completely empty, devoid of any emotions at all. They were all gone, spent in the tears around her pillow.

Kagome, smelling the pizza that her brother had ordered, realized that she was hungry and went downstairs to get some. She didn't even speak to her family when she got there, but just grabbed a piece and left. As she was going up the stairs, though, her mother, having followed her, caught her arm.

"Kagome, are you ok? I mean, with what's going on right now?"

"Hai… I'm ok…" 'Well, that's a flat out lie,' Kagome thought to herself. "Oh, I have a meeting with the counselor tomorrow. The note says that you're supposed to come to, so…"

"I know. Your teacher told me what happened."

"Ok then…" Kagome was still to devoid of emotion to be embarrassed, or feel stupid. At this point, that was probably all for the best.

"Kagome?"

"Hai?"

"Do you have a plan for the meeting?"

'You mean an excuse…' "Hai, I think so…" Kagome responded, while actually thinking about what to say. Not that the counselor would believe her.

Kagome turned around and continued back up to her room, still contemplating various ideas. She went inside her room, shutting the door behind her with a click. She looked at her bed, still with splotches of blood and wet patches from her tears. She looked over at her desk, where very accurate sketches of Inu-yasha lay, along with some of her best poetry. She saw the tree outside her window, where she could still picture Inu-yasha sitting and staring at her. She saw the piles of diaries she had filled over the past few years, which had started with one that she had started in Sengoku Jidai. It was all of these things that bound her to her grief.

It was then that she decided what she would do about her counselor visit tomorrow. She wouldn't even try to lie; she would tell the truth. They would definitely put her away for the story she would tell, but that was ok. In an asylum, she would be around people who didn't care. They could give her help there, and maybe she could get over this and get on with her life. Maybe they could make her believe that it was a lie, that she was crazy, that her heart wasn't broken…

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"Higurashi, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please, call me Takuya! And may I call you Kagome?" Having many years of experience, Takuya Saito knew that, in order to help the student, you needed them to feel comfortable around you.

"You may, Takuya-san." Takuya flinched slightly at the formal words, but more at the dead tone of her voice. This girl was really having problems.

"Ok, Kagome, how about you and I step into my office and talk for awhile. Mrs. Higurashi, I'll speak to you after we've talked for awhile, and we'll see if it will be the two of us, or all three of us, ok?" said Takuya with a friendly smile; he really was good at his job. Which wasn't actually being a counselor in the same way that the other counselors were. He was there to help students with problems in their lives, the idea being that, if the problems in their lives weren't there, their school work would be better.

Kagome's mother nodded, but cast one last glance at Kagome. Are you sure you want to do this? Kagome saw and comprehended the look, and gave a small nod. Takuya took note of this.

As Kagome stepped into his office and took a seat, she took a deep breath, and prepared herself for what was to come. She was finally going to tell someone about all her pain. So what if they were gonna lock her up for it? Then she would get help…

"Ok, Kagome!" Takuya snapped her attention back to him. He looked down at a paper in front of him. "Your teacher says that you had a breakdown yesterday, and that you said some strange things, a-"

"Are they written there?" Rather surprised at her interruption, it took Takuya a second to answer.

"Yes, more or less, they are…"

"They're all true."

"Well, someone doesn't want to waste time today!" Then he looked down at what she said. "I think there may be a typo on here. It says that you have friends 500 years ago. But that doesn't make sense, so it was probably supposed to be five-"

"No. She's right."

"Then you were speaking figuratively?"

"No."

"Then you mean you've never had friends?"

"I meant what I said. I'm not going to play games with you, either. I-"

"Ah, but Miss Higurashi, I believe that you already are. You were about to claim that you were the Kagome Higurashi of legend, weren't you?" Kagome's eyes went wide. "Yes, I know that tale. I just finished reading it the other night, because they asked me to see if they should teach it in drama classes. As a matter of fact, they're going to be doing mini-plays of it! Such a gorgeous story. You already had drama today, and that's where you got the idea, isn't it? I want the truth, Kagome."

Kagome looked him in the eyes with a gaze that bored into him, with such a strength behind it that he didn't understand, or really heed. It was actually her spirit power, enforced by her want to forget.

"And what if that is the truth?"

"Kagome, I-"

"I haven't had drama yet, Tokuya-san. You can even check my schedule."

"Well, you probably heard from your friends."

"I don't have friends here."

"You probably heard someone talking about it!"

"No one talks to me. As a matter of fact, everyone stares at me, and it gets really quiet wherever I go."

'Ouch'. Takuya winced a little at her tone, not to mention the events.

Kagome continued. "I am the Kagome Higurashi of legend, and I can prove it."

'Now there's a lead. I can prove her false, and then we can find out what her real problem is.' And with that, he pulled his book of ancient Japanese translations, all copied directly from their first written source. He would be the ultimate expert.

Well, minna, I hope your happy! It's not a total cliffhanger!!! And it was long!!!

Well, more soon, I hope!!!

Review! Review! Review! Review! Review!

~~Koneko-chan~~