True Faith

"You look like you have a lot on your mind this evening, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha didn't dare turn his head to acknowledge the monk's presence. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on the setting sun and relaxed his stance as his comrade came to stand beside him on the grassy hill. The damp spring air clung to his skin and kept his annoyance from festering into a heated display, but he couldn't help but feel slightly grateful for the company, even if it was Miroku. When he was alone, his thoughts always led to her. He couldn't help himself. Inescapable, her very essence burned so deep into his core that he knew it could never be removed. Every fiber of his being craved her and his heart was heavy from missing her so much, but he managed to keep his composure and was even thankful for the distraction Miroku was providing just by standing beside him. It was almost comforting to know that even when he felt alone, he really wasn't.

"The sunset is beautiful tonight," the monk was saying, opting for a mild conversation topic instead of delving into the subject Inuyasha knew he wanted to voice. "Sometimes I forget what a beautiful world we live in."

"Yeah. It's good." He wanted so badly to say that the world Miroku had called beautiful had taken Kagome away from him, but he didn't risk it; he would only be surrendering to the monk's true motive of getting him to bring her up all by himself so he wouldn't have to. "Shouldn't you be at home with your wife?"

Miroku chuckled under his breath. "I failed to fulfill her pregnancy cravings, so she sent me out of the house for an hour or two to 'think about what I've done' and then come back later to apologize."

"Keh! I guess that's what you get after pestering her to have your kids for such a long time," Inuyasha said with a small smirk. "I hope it's worth it."

"Of course it is. I get to have children with the woman I love… What's more worth it than that?"

It was meant as a light-hearted comment, but Inuyasha didn't take it as such. Miroku had gotten everything he had wanted. His curse was lifted, he married the love of his life, they had their own home in Kaede's village, people still desired the monk's demon slaying services (along with the hanyou's aid of course) so he always had food on the table, and he had a child on the way. Sango and Miroku had finally gotten their happy ending, and he was left to wonder just how long that ending would include him. He could barely live without Kagome, but he often wondered what would happen to him once Miroku and Sango left him, too. Shippo would be there, but the brat would be busy building his own family. Then he would be alone all over again without his friends and the woman his heart yearned for. Such an existence would be hell for him. 'I might never see Kagome again,' he thought. 'But at least she's safe. At least she's back with the people who love her in her own time. No matter how much I miss her and want her back, I know that she's where she needs to be.'

He jumped slightly when Miroku laid on a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's okay if you miss her," he said quietly. "We all do."

Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut, but didn't shake off Miroku's hand like the monk had expected him to. "Kagome is safe," he answered simply. "She's with the people who love her in her own time and that's all that matters, Miroku. End of discussion."

"It's nearly been a year." Miroku sighed and lowered his gaze, lost in memories. "When the well reappeared and you came back without her, we were all worried about you. She was safe; that much we knew because you wouldn't have returned here otherwise. Then we began to wonder what you would do since she wasn't here. I must admit that I'm proud of you, my friend… Your strength is admirable and your dedication to her is still intact. You've been visiting the well every three days, right? I must ask this of you… Do you think she'll ever come back to us? To you?"

It was a question Inuyasha himself had grappled with far too often. Would she come back to him? He wasn't sure. Now that Kagome was finally in her own time, she could focus on that "skool" thing, hang out more with her friends, and be closer to her family. She had things to do and people to see and places to go, and she had to do it all without him. The only thing that mattered to him was that she was safe. She didn't have to worry about Naraku or jewel shards or demons that wanted to capture her anymore. She could live her life in the simplest of ways without him, and that was something that he didn't want to take away from her.

"She'll return to us if she wants to," Inuyasha responded softly, his topaz orbs glowing brightly as he met Miroku's eyes. "It's out of my hands. Hell, it might even be out of hers. But she's safe and that's all that matters now."

The monk nodded in understanding and exhaled loudly. "She was good to us. Without her, I don't know how we could've made it to this day. She's changed us all. I'm very grateful to her…"

The hanyou remained silent.

"You had walls up when we first met, Inuyasha," Miroku continued. "But one by one, Kagome brought them all down. She didn't want to change you… Instead, she amplified who you were and made you a better person because of that. Her love for you was enough to give you the strength to not only defeat Naraku, but your own demons that you had been fighting against long before any of us met you. You've come a long way, Inuyasha. She'd be very proud of you if she was here right now."

"Keh. Don't put words in her mouth, monk."

But Inuyasha knew Miroku was right. Kagome had done all those things for him and he was eternally grateful to her. She had saved him from himself, accepted him for who he was, and encouraged him to grow stronger in a way that he had once deemed weak. He owed her his life. He might've saved her from countless demon and human attacks, but she was the one who had rescued him from his own loneliness and his own personal demons that had threatened to destroy him. He loved her. He missed her. He wanted her back more than anything in the world, but he was never one to let what he wanted eclipse what he truly needed, and that was her happiness and safety.

"She saved me," Inuyasha murmured more to himself than Miroku.

The monk cast the hanyou a sideways glance and then nodded in understanding. "She saved all of us. I have faith that she'll return to you, Inuyasha. I have a feeling that her role in this world isn't over yet."

"Keh! What gives you that feeling?"

"Sometimes I can just feel these things. I guess you can call it my 'spiritual powers' whispering in my ear." At Inuyasha's scoff, Miroku chuckled and said, "I'm serious, Inuyasha. I know that she's going to come back to you. The two of you always find each other no matter what has separated you… Do you have faith in her?"

Inuyasha turned his face back toward the sky. "I'll always have faith in her," he said softly. "Nothing can change that."

The monk judged the age of the day and came away with pursed lips, his violet eyes sparkling under the dying light from the setting sun. "I should probably return home and see if my wife can tolerate my face. Would you like to join us for supper tonight? We always have a space at the table for you and Shippo in case he comes home from his fox demon lessons."

"Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Good. Shall we?"

'Kagome did bring down my walls,' he thought to himself as he followed closely behind Miroku back to the village – his home. 'She helped me to smile. She helped me to laugh and to believe in people. Kagome was born to meet me, and I was born to meet her. No matter what happens or how long she's away from me, that will never change. I have faith in her. She'll come back to me when she's ready. Until then, I'll wait. I'll wait for an eternity if I have to! She's worth it.'

Inuyasha cast a glance in the direction of The Sacred Tree and the well: the location of their beginning and their end. He hoped that one day it would create a new beginning for the both of them, but for now, he had dinner plans. "I'm waiting, Kagome," he whispered. "Your home is waiting for you."

End

A/N: This was just a small little one-shot to (hopefully) get me back in the swing of things! I recently watched the last episode of The Final Act and this was the first thing that I've been compelled to write in a while. Please stick with me as I'm trying to come back into the writing and FanFiction world! I've missed it waaay too much, and I promise that I'll have some new material out there for you to read shortly. Thank you all for your support! I hope you enjoyed this little snippet.