Thunk. Kagome's feet plopped down on the bottom of the well. She climbed up the sides, easily pulling herself out.

"Mama! I'm back!" She ran to the small house, needing to blow off some steam to her mother. Unfortunately, taped to the front door, was a note saying that her family had gone on a trip to the hot springs. Sighing, she walked in anyway, depositing her black backpack on the table before sitting down.

Well, damn. She had been counting on having her mother to talk too. This time, Inuyasha had gone too far. She had asked to come home for awhile, as she was running low on supplies. Inuyasha had muttered something about staying there for good. When she confronted him, he had yelled at her, surprise surprise. But what he said wasn't expected at all.

He apparently thought that once Naraku was defeated, she would come back to the future, and stay for good. Never returning to the feudal era. Was he retarded?! Couldn't he see how much she loved everyone, how she belonged there? She had seen to much these past four years, to truly feel at ease in the future. Hell, she hadn't even joined a university after graduation. Instead, she had stayed longer in the feudal era, only returning home every month or so.

She did love her family, but they understood how she felt. They saw how she didn't smile when walking downtown, and heard as she sighed when, once again, the stars weren't visible through the thick Tokyo smog. So they let her leave, and made peace with the fact that Kagome would forever have to be shared.

Shaking her head to clear it, the she quickly gathered the necessities, soap, ramen, medical supplies and the like. No point in sticking around for longer. Besides, if she returned quickly Inuyasha wouldn't have anything to complain about. Smiling, she dropped down the well, preparing to accept his apology.

"My Lord! My Lord!" Not for the first time that day, Sesshomaru sent a deadly glare at Jaken, promising pain if he didn't lower that high pitched voice.

"A thousand apologies my Lord! But you must see this! That stupid half breed is, well I think at least, I can't really tell, what all his foul noises me-ugh!" Jaken was cut off as Sesshomaru stepped on him. He gulped as the demon coldly surveyed him.

"Why would the half breeds doings be of any importance to this Sesshomaru?"

"Be-because, my Lord. He had done something of such stupidity! He mated the undead miko!" Sesshomaru lifted his foot, letting Jaken skip around in glee, singing about how stupid Inuyasha was.

Rin looked up at the stoic lord, confused,"Sesshomaru-sama, why would Inuyasha do that? I thought Kagome-chan loved him." The same thoughts were running through his head. The stupid fool always protected that human, so why would he mate another? The answer came to him almost immediately.

"Because Rin, the half breed is too stupid to see that," he smirked at the thought. The human miko was rather headstrong, he wondered what she might do to his half brother once she found out. If luck was on his side, hopefully the imbecile would get himself purified. Hmm, this could be worth his time...

"Rin, we're leaving."

A branch smacked into her face, but she kept running, hardly caring. Roots tripped her, but she didn't stop, despite her bleeding knees. She just had to keep running, she had to get away from them.

She had climbed out of the well, a little cautious as she kept hearing odd noises. Just like always Inuyasha had been there. But this time, he wasn't alone.

A dry sob ripped through her.

He hadn't noticed her at first, oh no, his attention was rather occupied. With Kikyou. They had been on the ground, impossibly close, clothes haphazardly thrown around the writhing bodies. She had been stunned, but when he groaned out Kikyou's name, she had fallen to her knees with a sharp cry.

The ground grew steeper, angling downhill, but she hardly noticed.

He had turned around then, finally seeing her,"Kagome..." Shock filled him, before he lep up. "Wait, it's not what you think!" She had shouted back at him, as her heart shattered into a million pieces.

"Don't lie to me!" Then she tried to leave, because she just couldn't stay. It was torture, seeing the proof that he had never loved her. But he wouldn't let her leave. Grabbing her arm, he kept yelling things that she didn't hear. She had ripped her arm away, not caring that his claws cut into her, and had just ran.

Kagome was still running, but now it was too fast. Too wrapped up in her pain, she didn't see the hill, and was now out of control. She was falling too fast, she couldn't stop. Bracing herself for the inevitable crash, she closed her eyes.

But instead of hitting the ground, she smacked into something firm and warm. Definitely living. She couldn't compose herself in time, so as someone pushed her up, her breathing was still too fast, and her eyes too broken. In fact, she barely noticed who was before her, until he spoke.

"Miko, remove yourself from this Sesshomaru," she scrambled away from him, only to fall down again. He sniffed the air lightly. She radiated betrayal, and a crushing sense of pain. So, it seemed she had found the hanyou.

"Why are you here, Sesshomaru-sama?" There was no fear in her voice. That displeased him, everyone feared him, and for good reason. Although, it looked like she didn't have the energy to feel much of anything, exexpt pain if her scent was anything to go by.

"This Sesshomaru heard that the filthy half breed had once again shamed our family by mating with the undead Miko," He watched as her eyes squeezed shut, and another wave of pain radiated off of her. But to his surprise, she didn't cry. Instead, she looked up at him with broken eyes.

"Yes, he has. Still is, actually," She stood up, but he noticed her wincing as her right arm was moved. Long, curved claw marks were there, from her elbow to her wrist. His lip curled in disgust.

"Was that imbecile the one to injure you, miko?" Hmph, Sesshomaru knew that he was far from innocent, but even he didn't attack others without reason. His opinion of the hanyou, if possible, dropped even more as the woman nodded.

Suddenly, Rin rushed forward,"Kagome-chan! Here, let's get that cleaned." She grabbed a scrap of cloth and a water canteen, but looked at Sesshomaru for permission. He almost waved her away, but then realized that having the miko owe him would have its benefits.

He nodded to Rin, letting her rush toward the human and clean her wounds. The woman stared incredulously up at him, shocked he was helping her. He stared back, daring her to question him. She surprised him, and didn't look away. Hmph, what was with this woman? Did she not know fear?

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter much. She had looked away from him, but only to thank Rin and give the girl a small hug. She giggled, happy with the woman that was like an older sister to her.

"Kagome-neechan, are you going back to Inuyasha-san now?" Rins small face frowned as she stared imploringly up at the older woman.

Kagome frowned, her blue eyes pools of sadness,"No. I'm not sure where I'll go, but not back to him. Never."

Rin turned to the daiyoukai, her eyes sparkling,"Sesshomaru-sama, since she has no where else to go, can Kagome-neechan come with us? Please?"

Sesshomaru blinked at the little girl, before looking at the woman, who sat there stunned. While he was not apt to deny Rin anything, this was asking quite a lot. Surprisingly, the miko spoke first.

"Rin-chan, I'm not sure that's the best idea. I still need to find the rest of the jewel shards, and hunt Naraku," Her eyes widened as Rin gave a toothy grin.

"But Sesshomaru-sama is also hunting Naraku! Please?" Tentatively, Kagome looked up at the Dai Youkai. He met her gaze, then turned and started walking.

"Let's go." Kagome sighed, wondering why she was a little disappointed, until Rin laughed happily and stood up, pulling Kagomes hand with her.

"C'mon Nee-chan! Sesshomaru-sama gets angry if we don't keep up,"

"But, he didn't say-"

"He didn't say no! If Sesshomaru-sama didn't want you to come, he'd say so,"

Their argument was cut short as the Dai Youkai looked back at them, crossing his arms. Rin skipped forward, pulling Kagome with her.

Kagome, for the hundredth time that day, sighed. They had been walking for about two hours when Rin began to nod off. Sesshomaru let them make camp before the little girl fell off of Ah-Un.

She sat before the campfire, head on her knees, arms curled around them. Now that she didn't have the little girls chatter to distract her, she kept remembering Inuysha. She hadn't cried, yet, and could feel the pressure behind her eyes. She still couldn't believe that he had just turned his back on her. It wasn't like he didn't know how she felt, they'd kissed for Kami's sake!

She almost laughed at that. Sure, they kissed, but he and Kikyou had done a lot more. She must not mean anything to him. Once again, she sighed.

That was it. He had enough of her incessant sighing. The woman surprisingly wasn't annoying, just talkative, which he was used to, with Rin. Yet now she just sat there. Sesshomaru sat down across from the miko, and looked her in the eye.

"Miko, why must you continuously sigh? It is wearing on my nerves," she glanced up, but looked back into the fire as she answered.

"I just can't believe it. I thought he loved me, but he could throw it all away with out a second glance. And he hasn't even come after me." He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You were aware that he had, feelings, for the undead one, and yet you still believed he loved you?" She smiled, a tiny, bitter movement.

"She was his first love, so I didn't expect him to just ignore her. But he told me that he cared about me, so yes, I believed him."

"You never thought that you were just a substitute for her? A copy, useful but never as good as the original?" His words cut her deep. They were exactly what she thought, but had never said, wishing so much to be untrue. But this was deep down, and she would never, ever admitt it.

"I thought that he would see me for who I am! Just like I don't care what he is, I thought he would do the same for me!" She was riled up now, but so was Sesshomaru. He would not stand lying, not even to oneself.

"You believe that at one point, he truly cared about you? That you weren't just a replacement?

Kagome stood up,"Yes! He did love me!"

Sesshomaru gracefully stood, towering above her. Sneering, he grabbed her arm, creating a cloud of youki and flying through the air.

She gasped, the speed at which they traveled shocking her immensely. Suddenly, she wasn't as angry that Sesshomaru had such a tight grip on her arm, if it kept her from falling off the small cloud.

Just as quick as they had started, the flight was over, and Sesshomaru deposited them safely on ground. She whirled around, still angry at him, when she heard a voice through the trees.

"Shhh Kikyou, I can smell my stupid half brother," Inuyasha crashed through the forest, Tetsaiga drawn.

"Kagome? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH DICK FACE?!" He charged straight at Sesshomaru, not seeing Kagome sink to her knees in defeat. She wouldn't cry, not when Inuyasha fought for her, not even when Kikyou gave her that smug smile. She would not cry.

"Stop it Inuyasha! Don't attack him!" At least her voice was stronger then she felt.

He turned towards her, dumbfounded,"Why are you protecting him!? Why are you even with him? You belong with me!"

She couldn't believe he could say that to her face! "Why would I be with you? Do you even realize what happened?" She laughed, but it was empty of humor. "Did you even care?"

Sesshomaru surveyed the young woman. Hmm, that useless hanyou would be the death of her. The stupid boy didn't even seem to know how broken the miko looked, He saw Inuyasha's eyes flash red at her comments, the taiyoukai wondered if he would try and hurt the woman again.

"Of course I cared! You weren't supposed to see that!" Would the half breed never stop shouting?

"Oh, were you just going to go behind my back forever?" At least the miko was fighting back, which could be interesting.

"No! I told you Kagome, you belong in the future!" She gasped, and took a step back, shocked.

Quietly, she looked into the hanyou's eyes and replied,"I didn't believe that you meant it...Did you ever really love me? Or was I just something to fill your time with, because you couldn't have her?"

Inuyasha looked almost hesitant, but he still spoke with finality,"I loved you, but never as much as Kikyou." Just then, the undead miko stepped into the clearing and set a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Come, lets go," Kagome watched as the man she had loved for the past four years walked away from her without a backwards glance.

Sesshomaru turned towards the broken miko,"That seems to have settled our argument. Remember, I am hardly ever wrong, miko."

She looked over at him, hurt and confused and angry and she just could not stand one more minute of it.

"You made me go through that, just to prove a point? Just to say that you were right? You can't just play with people's emotions Sesshomaru! It's not fair, or right or..."

He looked coldly at her,"I took you here to do more than prove a point."

"Then what was this for?! Couldn't you just let my believe that he had at least returned my feelings at some point! What was wrong with that? I just, I loved him," She fell back onto her knees, trying so hard not to cry, because once she started she didn't think that she would ever be able to stop.

But Sesshomaru was having none of that,"No, you don't. You entertain the the idea of being in love, but you're not. You think infatuation is love, but it is not. You could never truly love someone if they didn't also have such ardent feelings for you, which the half breed clearly did not."

He saw as she broke down. He saw the first tear leak out of her sapphire eyes, then the torrential downpour that followed. She curled up in a small ball on the ground, sobbing with her hands almost tearing her hair out.

She was so loud, he almost wanted to leave. But something, the same part of him that indulged Rin, made him sit down next to her. He didn't speak, merely stayed with her.

Kagome felt as he sat down next to her. She didn't stop crying, didn't even look at him, and yet she felt his strong presence throughout the entire night.

So just a beginning, hope that you guys liked it! Please review, I would love some kind criticism. Thank you for reading!

~Voice in the Dark