Love Lost

Author’s note: This idea came to me as an original, I tried turning to a vampire story but It just wouldn’t work so I tried this and it turned out great, well it seemed good to me at least! I know I’m not the greatest at writing these stories but I try.

I tend to do better with one shots or short stories than I do with long chapter stories. Anyways, I’m just rambling now so on with the story, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. I could care less about the rating I just want reviews.

One more thing... IF I DO NOT GET ANY REVIEWS I WILL NOT POST ANYMORE CHAPTERS!!!!! I want to know what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right!

On to the story!

--------~~~~------~~~~-----BEGIN STORY------~~~~~---------~~~~~-------

------~~~~~~Chapter 1- Strange Encounters~~~~~~------

6 Years After the Death of the Evil Hanyou, Naraku…

The clouds rolled in, untamed and unrestrained, casting eerie shadows around the once beautiful valley. No moon shone this night. No stars visible in the dark night sky. The old field was a vision of death.

The flowers had died, the trees uprooted and torn to pieces during that final battle. That final battle that had taken so much. Even in the end, with the demise of the hated Naraku, the result was not a happy one. To much had been lost to enjoy the defeat of their long venture to end the hanyou’s rain.

The rain began to poor down on a lone figure standing watch over the dark place that was once his utopia. He stared down at the old pile of wood and mud that was once a magical well; used to transport the very person who’s memory runs strongly through his clouded thoughts, through time.

From her home in the future… to his time in the warring era of Japan. The Sengoku-Jidai.

The path from the old well to the place he now stood was now overgrown, covered by muddy puddles and ugly weeds.

He stood in the raging down poor above the valley for what seemed like hours.

His long shimmering silver hair cascaded down his broad shoulders; reaching just above his lower back, whipped around his face and his back from the violent current of cold, harsh wind brought on by the dark clouds.

Strands of silvery locks clung to his wet skin, almost frozen there, stuck to him from the blasts of icy water that poured from the indigo sky. His bright golden honey eyes shone with an unnatural luminescence, but were clouded over, lost in the dark recess of his mind.

His red hakama clung to his legs, his fire rat haori tossed around his back carelessly by the thrash of wind. In the front, the normally bright red fabric had been darkened dramatically from the moisture that made it cling loosely upon his toned chest and stomach.

He was soaked to the bone and seemingly covered in ice from the chilled air… but he didn’t care.

The darkness surrounded him, the world closed in as the raging storm blazed around his figure.

Still… he stood watching over the small valley.

Years ago, this basin was alive and prosperous. Blossoms of the most wild variety of shapes, sizes and colors covered the entire area.

The ancient trees had seen the beginnings of time and where still getting older, but now all that was gone. The trees had been uprooted and completely destroyed by the battle that happened years ago.

The beautiful flowers and the lush green grass had been gone a long time now, curled and dried.

Dead.

The air no longer smelled of fragrant flowers, and fresh grass. Rarely did this area make one feel anything but emptiness and longing.

Now he scented nothing but mud and miasma. Even through the outrageous flooding of rain water, the scent of miasma remained as potent as it would on a clear day.

Though days here could never again be considered beautiful…

The dank old gorge was now covered in a toxic smog, to humans, it could prove fatal. To him however, the deadly poisonous covering was little more than a nuisance, taking air from his lungs and burning his eyes.

Never strong enough to stop him from standing watch over the valley.

In either case, this desolate old field was once a representation of smiles and laughter, love and friendship, but now it represents nothing but pain, darkness and an uncontrollable loathing.

He stood there often on his own, sometimes to think; but usually… usually he stood there because he half wished that his beautiful Kagome would appear out of the dark purple haze that shrouded the demolished area.

Kagome… he thought.

You could have stopped her… you could have saved her… his mind whispered over and over.

The thoughts wouldn’t stop, the memories continued to rush to his minds eye and his sight remained lost and glazed.

Seemingly out of no where a shadow appeared at his side, his head bowed low, short black hair falling into his face and clinging to him, obscuring the view of his glowing violet eyes.

His purple robes wildly slashing around the air behind him and the cold rain fell onto his face.

He glanced at the lone figure out of the corner of his eye.

He showed no indication that he had noticed as the shadowy figure approached. His eyes remained glazed and watery as he continued to stare down on the little valley. The man placed his hand on the figures shoulder, successfully jolting him out of his dazed state.

The man searched the figures face for any indication as to what he might be thinking. He didn’t need to search, he knew; but he did it anyway.

“She’s not coming back InuYasha…” he whispered carefully.

“feh…” was his only response.

“You know she wouldn’t like you standing up here… you know… she‘s gone…” Miroku pushed on again trying to get his friend to understand.

“A part of me knows that… but the other part of me… the other part of me just wishes she’ll come back, that she’ll just walk up that path… like she always did… nothing ever happened…” He responded.

“I know, but you know as well as I do that its not going to happen, we all wish it would but she’s gone… she’s gone and she’s not coming back” he said his tone increasing in anger as he spoke.

“Damn that Naraku!!!” InuYasha yelled, his voice resonating through the dark night sky, disturbed by the rain and wind.

They both stood there in silence after his outburst, the anger and hatred in his voice surprising the both of them.

The darkness settled in once again.

Sesshomaru… you bastard! the thought came unbidden.

He didn’t hate a lot of people but there was one, and then another.

Naraku… now perished; no longer held the full blast of his hatred.

Sesshomaru… His only living relative, was now on the receiving end of the hanyou’s anger and pain.

InuYasha had never before hated his brother, no… he was just angry with him…

But now… now he hated him, hated him because he had the chance to save Kagome…

The chance to revive her…

The chance to bring her back to him with simply one swing of the Tenseiga.

But he refused.

He refused because he claimed “I owe you nothing, half-breed.” that was the last thing Sesshomaru had said to him, Looking down on him in nothing but disgust as he held Kagome in his arms as she died.

Sesshomaru had refused his single and only request.

He watched her die that day.

As they watched over the now silent cold bottom, another figure came walking up the path towards them.

“I could have saved her; had I seen her coming… but she came up to quick By the time I saw her it was to late…” he whispered quietly, his hands curled into a fist, his razor sharp claws digging into the flesh of his palms.

Blood began to poor down his fist diluted by the rain. It flooded down to the ground from his knuckles.

He unclenched his fists.

“She was already gone…” he finished, the unshed tears finally released.

“She sacrificed herself, gave her own life, to save the rest of us…” Miroku said quietly

“InuYasha… you know Kagome wouldn’t want you to keep standing here…” The girl said quietly.

Her dark brown hair, dripping wet now looked black, weighed heavily on her head as it was thrown viciously in the wind. Her pink hakama and green kimono clung to the from of her curvy body and swished around behind her.

Her eyes shone with unshed tears as brightly as InuYasha’s did. Unlike InuYasha, however, she let her tears fall freely, never trying to hide her mourning from the world.

She missed the sister of her heart, and she didn’t care who knew it.

“I know that Sango… but I cant help it.” he responded.

He continued to stare out into the darkness of the area around them.

“Her soul… I watched her soul return to Kikyou’s body…” he continued, Sango and Miroku both looked at him as he spoke.

He turned his head to the ground.

“Kikyou was alive again… really alive… but I couldn’t bring myself to care…” he kept speaking. They remained quiet, knowing all they could do to help their friend was listen, he was telling them what his heart was saying.

He looked up at them.

“I didn’t love her anymore…” he said, his voice sounded confused, and surprised them all, even himself.

“The girl I loved gave her life to save mine… stupid girl…” he said, forcing back a choked sob that threatened to rip its way out of his throat.

“We always knew you loved her InuYasha… even she knew…” Sango said quietly.

“I never got the chance to tell her myself… and now I never will” he said.

The rain continued to fall on the three people standing atop the hill hidden by the indigo clouds and the scattering of the rain drops. The violently icy currents of harsh wind whipped at the three of them, causing goose flesh to rise on their already soaked bodies.

“Come on InuYasha… lets go back inside, you know she wouldn’t want you to stand here all night and get sick…” Sango said quietly, knowing full well he wouldn’t get sick, but using the excuse to get him inside to the advantage.

“You two go ahead…. I wanna stay a little longer…” he stated sullenly.

Once again he turned his head to stare into the black nothingness in front of him.

“Just…. Promise you wont stay here all night?” she said, looking at him hopefully.

“feh…” was all the answer she got from him.

“Come Sango… He wishes us to leave him… you know full well InuYasha wont listen to reason when it comes to Kagome…” Miroku said as him and the girl headed back down the path.

InuYasha glanced over his shoulder, watching as the left him to his thoughts, listening until the muted footsteps of the two faded into the raging sounds of the wind.

Sango… Miroku… you don’t understand…

InuYasha turned his face upward, catching the full blast of ice and wind in his face. But he didn’t care. He closed his eyes and let the chill clear his thoughts.

Kagome… why did you leave me? Why did you have to do that?!

“I COULD HAVE SAVED YOU!” he shouted… unknowingly announcing his thoughts unto the dark sky above him.


The storm continued to wage war against his body but still he continued to endure the sting of the ice rain and force of the powerful undercurrent of freezing wind.

Snow began to fall not long after, obscuring his view of the mutilated well.

As he turned to return to the village via the small travel worn path, now covered in ice and snow, he caught a scent.

She must have been close because the wind and snow were blocking much of his senses.

“Kikyou….” he said quietly, “I know your there Kikyou, you can show yourself” he finished.

“InuYasha…” she said calmly as she walked up to stand beside him. She also looked out over the dark gorge.

Her black hair whipping around her face and back as the wind flew violently threw her hair and slashed madly at her clothes.

Her white haori swished around her upper body and the red hakama she adorned slashed around her long legs.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

“I came to see you InuYasha.” she said.

She turned her head to look at him directly.

“Kikyou, you know I’m not… you know I cant-”

“Its ok InuYasha, I understand. You have no need to explain.” she interrupted.

She knew all to well what he was trying to say.

“Kikyou… I’m sorry… but… Kagome… she… I…” He stuttered trying to find the words to tell her he didn’t love her anymore.

“I know InuYasha, you truly love her, not as you had once loved me.” she responded, her voice sounding surprisingly upbeat despite how she was truly feeling. The storm the continued to slash madly around their prone figures all but forgotten.

“I’m sorry Kikyou… but Kagome… she was so…. She accepted me… the way I was… she didn’t want me to change.”

“I know InuYasha, and I understand. She loves you as I never could.” Kikyou said.

She had resigned herself to the fact that she had lost InuYasha to a person whom he believed to be in the next world.

“Kikyou… why do you… speak of Kagome as if she is still alive?” InuYasha asked, an expression of confusion written clearly on his face.

Kikyou smiley at him gently, “things are not always as they seem InuYasha.”

“What is that supposed to mean? I watched her die! I held her in my arms as she took her last breath…. I saw her soul return to you!” he began to get angry.

“Calm yourself, I mean no harm. I simply mean you should not always believe what you see, she spoke to me InuYasha… she told me she will never let you go... And I gave you up.” she said.

“We never shared the same soul… it was a mistake, she it not my incarnation… it was her presence that spoke to me…”

She smiled at him again and began to turn to walk back into the blizzard that continued to rage around them.

“Kikyou wait!” she shouted.

She glanced over her shoulder to look at him.

“I don’t… understand…” he said, his brow furrowed in confusion as he shook his head side to side slightly.

She looked ahead of her and continued on her way down the path the opposite direction of the village. Her need to be in the old village of Edo was gone, she no longer shared any bond with her sister as Kaede had grown old and no longer knew her.

The village needed no priestess as it had the monk known as Miroku and her sister, as well as her sisters acolyte. All of them, combined with the powers of the half-demon InuYasha and the young demon slayer known as Sango, assured that Edo was well protected.

InuYasha stood in the storm until he could no longer see or smell the fading scent of his old love.

Letting go of the past was harder than he ever thought it could be.

True, he no longer loved Kikyou as he once had, but he still enjoyed having her near.

She had become a close friend.

He turned away from the direction she had gone and began to head back down toward the village to old Kaede’s hut.

Miroku and Sango will be worried sick by now, and the brat Shippou is probably throwing a fit.

“InuYasha!! We were beginning to worry! What took you?” Sango announced as he entered the worn old hut.

“Kikyou.” that was all he said as he headed to the dark corner of the hut in which he usually resided.

He sat down with his left knee up. His left arm propped up on his knee, his fist came to rest under his chin, the other held the Tetsusaiga, the fang of his father; the mighty InuTashio, forged into a sword by the master demon craftsmen Totosai, crossed against his chest.


The Shikon jewel hung from a thin string wrapped around his left wrist. It swayed back and forth as he stared at the wall, his eyes glazed over with a far away look.

Sango glanced at Miroku, Shippou sat atop her shoulder. Miroku shook his shoulder as if instructing her not to bother him.

“What’s wrong with InuYasha? What does he mean Kikyou? Kagome is gone and he’s still running off to see her!?” Shippou shouted.

“Why you, InuYasha-”

“Shippou! Stop it.” Sango shouted.

“Bu-“ he began.

“No Shippou, she’s right, he didn’t run off to Kikyou, she came to him.”

“Oh…” he said quietly, “sorry Inu-”

“No Shippou… leave him alone.” Miroku interrupted.

“O-Ok…” Shippou murmured quietly.

The small hut seemed empty despite the fact that it was occupied by the four of them.

Lady Kaede had gone a few villages away to help treat an illness in the small village, leaving them alone in the make-shift home.

InuYasha remained seated in the same position for quite some time, completely unaware of the conversing of his companions, as well as the powerful aura that approached.

The Shikon No Tama tapped lightly against his fore arm and he slowly lowered his gaze to the cursed thing. He removed his arm from under his chin and lifted it from its resting place on his leg. He held the wrist that held the rope containing the jewel up to his eye level and began examining it.

The jewel had changed, but he could not figure out what it was, exactly, that had changed, and so he sat there and turned it every which way, staring at it as it shone with a bright purple-pink color as the sun caught it.

The jewel seemed to be purer than it had ever been when it was with Kikyou. It shone a brighter color and it seemed so much lighter in weight.

He looked up suddenly and began to sniff the air, but the blizzard outside; though slowing, still obscured his senses. He couldn’t smell but he knew the unique signature of youki that approached all to well.

Sesshomaru.

He stood and swiftly walked to the entrance of the hut.

“InuYasha?” Sango asked curiously.

“Sesshomaru.” Was all he said and he was outside a minute later.

Sango and Miroku looked at each other and started to follow InuYasha when a small voice behind him spoke.

“Hey wait! I wanna come to!” said Shippou, holding onto the small kitten form and their neko youkia friend Kirara.

“No Shippou, you stay here, Kagome wouldn’t have wanted you to be anywhere near Sesshomaru. Kirara you look after him.” Sango said gently to the little kitsune pup and the small neko.

The two of them pulled the flap covering the entrance of the door and stepped out into the slowing storm. They came out in time to catch some of InuYasha’s interrogation.

“…-the hell are you doing here Sesshomaru?!”

“Silence half-breed, I did not come here for you, nor do I need to put up with your insolence. I seek the miko.” Sesshomaru said, more as a demand then anything.

“What do you want with Kaede!?” InuYasha snarled.

“I did not come for the elderly miko, I come for the young miko called Kagome.” he replied calmly.

“What are you talking about?! Kagome is dead!” InuYasha shouted.

“What game do you play hanyou? I sense her aura here. Bring her to me.” Sesshomaru replied, his eyes narrowed and his head turned slightly to the side.

“She’s been gone for years, you bastard!” InuYasha shouted.

“Have your senses grown so weak, little brother, that you cannot detect the presence of your precious human?” Sesshomaru replied coldly.

“What do you want with Kagome anyway!?”

Sango and Miroku stood to the side, watching ready to jump into battle at a moments notice. The storm was all but forgotten to the four of them.

The snow continued to fall, however, now it nothing but a light dusting of white powder.

InuYasha growled low in his throat. Sesshomaru just looked at him with a bored expression on his face.

“I seek her guidance for Rin.”

“Why would you leave your ward in the presence of your hated brother?” asked Miroku, stepping up to stand next to InuYasha and placing his hand on his shoulder.

“I am not leaving her with the half-breed, I am leaving her with the miko.” Sesshomaru said, he was getting annoyed now.

“As you have been previously been told, Lady Kagome is no longer with us” Miroku said.

“No more lies!” Sesshomaru demanded.

“We aren’t lying! How dare you come here! How dare you demand Kagome, you know she’s dead! You watched her die, you could have saved her but you let her die!” Sango shouted, unable to control her anger anymore.

“Hold your tongue demon slayer!” Sesshomaru demanded turning his icy glare to the young Tijiia.

Miroku moved to stand in front of Sango, successfully blocking the demon lords view of his wife.

“You came for Kagome… We are all telling you that Kagome no longer walks this world.” Miroku said angrily.

“That’s right, so get the hell outta here!!” InuYasha demanded.

“I will return, and rest assured, little brother, that the miko Kagome is very much alive. I will find her.” he said as he turned to leave.

The stood there and watched the Demon Lord walk away.

The snow stopped falling and the three of them re-entered the hut to find that Shippou had curled up with Kirara and went to sleep for the night. InuYasha stopped, shook his head and went back to his corner, cursing silently as went.

“InuYasha, would you care to explain what is going on to us?” Miroku asked.

“Kikyou… she was talking about Kagome… but she was talking as if she was alive… she said that Kagome spoke to her…” InuYasha said, “but how could she… she’s dead… right?” He finished.

“InuYasha-” Miroku began, “and now… Now Sesshomaru says she’s alive… as much as I hate the bastard, I know his senses are never wrong. He wouldn’t have come here if he didn’t truly believe Kagome was here… something is going on and I intend to find out what it is!” InuYasha shouted.

“Come to think of it… I have been feeling Lady Kagome’s aura as of late.” Miroku said, a thoughtful expression crossing his gentle features.

“Houshi..?” Sango asked.

InuYasha tilted his head downward, his line of site falling on the small gem in his hand.

The jewel…

Kagome…

I could have saved you…

I could have stopped all the pain your family is feeling…

All the pain I’m feeling…

I remember that day…

That day I had to tell your mother that I failed to protect you…

I remember…

All to well…