InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Flower Girl ❯ Your Friendship Means So Much To Me ( Chapter 29 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

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It had been several days since the attack by Naraku, and everyone save Sesshoumaru, Kagome, and the children had been injured, leaving them to make camp in the area and spend some time resting and recovering. The only one to leave had at one point been Jaken - after Inuyasha had spent some time talking privately to his brother.

That had left Kagome with curiosity rampant within her, but in dealing with everyone's injuries, and cooking for the group, she'd forgotten, just too busy to maintain any thoughts of anything else for long.

But that was finally changing. Sango and Miroku were both back on their feet, as was her little Shippo, and they were bound and determined to give her a bit of a break by taking over for her.

And so it was that she found herself with nothing to do, suddenly, and taking advantage of that, she decided to take a bit of a walk. Just as she was ready to leave the camp, Inuyasha spoke up.

"Kagome, could I... walk with you?" he asked, hesitantly. "I... need to talk to you," he finished quietly.

She looked at him, and nodded, holding out her hand with a slight smile. "Sure, Inuyasha. Come on."

With that, she led him off, and everyone left behind in the camp looked not so secretively at the big daiyoukai to see his reaction.

They were all rather surprised to see that he wasn't showing any - but he certainly didn't look angry.

Kagome smiled to herself as she and her best friend walked peaceably along. It had been so long since they'd done this - she hadn't realized 'til now how much she'd missed it.

It made her heart ache.

They finally came to a pretty little meadow dotted here and there with wildflowers, and sat down together.

Inuyasha folded his hands into his haori, and gazed off into the distance for a while, just enjoying the quiet - and her soothing presence.

He was lucky she had such a beautiful soul, and a forgiving one, or he'd never have known this pleasure again.

Naraku had been right about one thing - he was a fool - and he could now admit it.

"First, and foremost, I wanted you to know that I always knew the difference between you and Kikyou. I know that you thought that I mistook you for her a lot - but I didn't." He glanced at her, then looked away again.

"Inu aren't really capable of making mistakes like that, Kagome, because we rely on scent - and while a scent can be faked short-term, it can't be done long-term. I've always known that Kagome was Kagome."

She thought about that for a while, then nodded acceptingly. "Okay."

He chuckled, though there was little humor in the sound. "And just like that, you believe me."

She frowned, confused. "Why wouldn't I? You haven't lied to me."

"But that's just the thing, Kagome." He looked shamed. "I have. All the times I told you that you were ugly, that I hated your scent - that you couldn't be as good or as powerful or as smart as Kikyou. Those were all lies." He flinched as he caught her hurt gaze at the reminder of his cruel words.

"I won't go into the reasons behind why I said those things - at this point," it was his turn to looked pained, "they don't matter anymore, and I don't want to interfere... well, anyway, the less said, the better. I lost my chance with you, and as much as it hurts to say it, it's time I owned up to my foolishness, and let go."

Kagome's eyes filled with tears - she had let go a while ago now, but it still hurt, and truthfully, probably always would. She knew that in her heart of hearts, she would always love him - but she had a big heart, as big as her soul, and lots of room to love more than just Inuyasha.

And any relationship between her and her hanyou friend that tried to go beyond the boundaries of deep friendship would always be toxic - they would never be able to escape Kikyou's influence.

It just wouldn't ever work, and she could accept that now.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and watched as he pulled something from the sleeve of his haori. It was a necklace - like the one she'd long ago given him, it was a locket, though somewhat larger.

"I would be honored if you would accept this and wear it as a symbol of our friendship, Kagome." He opened it, and then held it out to her... and suddenly, she let out a sob, a smile breaking through at the same time.

It was beautiful. Inside, on one side of the locket, was a tiny, perfect painting of an Iris; with the meaning 'Your friendship means so much to me', it was perfect, and on the other, another tiny painting of him. Tears flooded her eyes, making the pictures waver in front of her, and she looked up, a wide, beautiful smile crossing her face.

"Oh, Inuyasha! It's beautiful! Where... where did you get something like this?" It had taken planning... and he'd been restrained to camp with his injuries.

He blushed a little. "Keh. Sesshoumaru and I had a talk - and I asked him if he would help me with this. That's where Jaken was, and what he brought back when he came this morning. I guess the ice lord has artisans at his shiro, and they created this."

She turned, presenting him her back. Twisting her hair over her shoulder, she asked, "Would you put it on?"

He smiled, and nodding, took the necklace and clasped it around her, then loosed her hair. She turned back around, still smiling, and hugged him.

"Thank you! I'll wear it always, Inuyasha. You will forever be my best friend, you know that, right?"

He nodded shyly. "And you will always be mine." He turned and looked up at the sky again. Slowly, he said, "I know... what all that was with Sesshoumaru the other day - the whole 'hope' thingy. If you have feelings for him... I won't try to get between you two." He chuckled, looking askance at her. "I may never understand what you see in that cold jerk, but..."

Kagome blushed, but held his gaze gratefully. "Thanks, Inuyasha."

"Your welcome, Kagome. I just... want you to be happy."

She stood up. "I think I'm going to head back to camp... you gonna stay here for a while?"

He looked up at her. "Yeah... I still have a lot of thinking to do."

"Okay." She smiled sweetly at him. "Be careful." With that, she walked away.

He watched her go, pain in his heart that he hadn't let her see.

I do want you to be happy, Kagome, and that's why I'm letting you go. I'm too broken to ever make you happy - and I see that now...

But I still love you, so I will stand aside so another can bring you the joy you deserve.

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A/N: I know a lot of ppl hate Inuyasha, but I don't. I think he's been through hell and back, and it blinded him to a lot of things, but he's not bad at heart. I, personally, adore Inuyasha. So... for those that hoped I'd be mean to him, sorry - ain't happening.

Amber