Waiting at the Well

At the Well

Inuyasha sat in the grass, wind blowing through his long silver hair. He didn't notice the way the leaves gently broke off into the air, nor did he notice the sun was already setting that day.

What day was it?

He couldn't remember.

All he could feel was the longing for Kagome. It was past the time the doctors had predicted she would die, so he naturally assumed her mortal life had ended.

All he could do was sit at the well.

There were no demons to blame for her death, other than himself. He had no vengeance to vent- he hadn't even felt the urge to find the jewel lately, which both surprised himself and others.

He gripped the sleeves of his shirt as he sat against the well. He hated the guilt that had settled in his heart, gripping to him relentlessly and unforgivingly.

He scoffed at himself once in awhile. He was pathetic; He was a dog waiting for his long gone master.

Maybe he could eventually go back to the search for Naraku. He still wanted to kill him and make him pay for all he had done; yet the fear of missing Kagome's return-if she had somehow survived- was too great to leave.

Miroku would often times walk past with the others, as if to check on him, but every time, he would always be sitting at the well.

Occasionally he would nod off to sleep against the old well, dreaming Kagome would lift herself out of her world and join them again.

Images of her would plague his dreams, her black hair, her strange clothes, and even her voice, yelling at him to sit boy!

He would jerk awake, imagining it had actually been her command, but the empty night would greet him, swallowing him up in the feeling of emptiness that seemed to fit so well with his current situation.

It seemed natural for him to fall asleep once again at the well as the time slipped by, immersing himself into his dreams.

He stood in a battlefield, dead bodies of villagers surrounding him. Dry blood caked on his claws. Was he the one who killed them? There were no signs of a great battle; it was as if they were massacred! He glanced at himself again, blood covering his cloak and hands. His claws were longer and he could feel the power of a full-demon rush through his veins.

A solitary figure stood in the middle of the dead masses, causing him to look over, sudden hate filling his mind at the thought of a survivor. He couldn't clearly see them as they approached, and his feet could not move, causing him to hold out his claws.

A cloud of mist hung around the air as they approached, the hair on his neck prickling. The figure looked up at him, and the fog slowly dissipated.

"Kagome," his voice was like a whisper, as he fell to his knees in front of her, losing his full-demon strength.

She looked down at him, pale. Her eyes were empty of the hate or anger that he thought she would have towards him. He looked in confusion as she drew Tetsusaiga, the gleaming silver fang pointed at his face while he felt completely powerless, unable to speak.

"P-please, Kagome, I-I'm sorry you died in your world! I never meant for it to be this way!" He held his arms out to protect himself against her, after finding the courage to open his mouth.

His eyes widened and his heart beat faster as she kneeled in front of him, gazing sadly at the reflective blade.

"Remember when you first used its power?"

He stared at her, tilting his head at her as she stroked the edge of the blade without getting cut.

"Y-yes," his voice betrayed him.

"It awakened because you wanted to protect me, a mortal," pain flickered through her face as she recounted his battle with Sesshomaru. Her eyes were still emtpy and glazed over, her wraith a cold reminder of his guilt and pain in the real world. Yes, the real world! He was still in a dream!

The sword plunged through his chest, ripping his cloak and skin until the hilt stuck out. The cold metal mixing with his warm blood eradicated his thought of him being in a dream.

The burning pain that ripped through his heart was as real as anything he had felt in his whole life. The blade that now stuck through him felt real, yet took a different feeling as well...

It was as though it was his heartbreak and grief in physical form, confronting him and torturing himself with it, along with the added guilt of Kagomes wraith, returning to his blood filled life to haunt him.

"ENOUGH!!" He screamed, ripping away from his dream and straightening his back from against the well's wall.

The cold silent air greeted his sweat drenched skin and he inhaled deeply, trying to calm his racing heart, until he froze. Something was touching his head; no, more like touching his ears...

He slowly turned around to see a wide-eyed Kogome, her fingers softly holding his fluffy ears.

Time froze as the wind died and they stared at each other, neither of them brave enough to say anything to the other.

"Wait, you're- you're-" he pointed his finger at her, still at a loss for words.

She looked at her hands and quickly drew them away from his ears, embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry, I know that you don't like it when..." She trailed off as she got off of the well's wall and sat, facing him, a wary look in her eyes.

"No, that's not what I mean't. Kagome," he pulled her into his embrace, burying his face into her neck, smelling her sweet scent he had missed for far too long, "you're alive!"

He bit his lip as he kept holding her, partly because how she was actually there, in his arms, and partially because he didn't want her to see his face if he cried. He shot back up and held her face by the chin, moving it in different angles to make sure she was actually real.

She shooed his hands away, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

"Inuyasha, it's me, I'm actually here!" She smiled and sat in front of him.

"I just, I assumed that you-" he paused taking more time to stare at her face as the sun began to set, "I assumed you were dead."

She smiled softly. "Well, I was able to heal, despite the doctor's diagnosis. I'm stronger than you think!" She grinned and chuckled, placing her hands on her hips, but stopped, a troubled look on her face.

"If you thought I was dead...then why are you here?"

He froze, his back tensing at the question. She couldn't know; He couldn't tell her how he felt!

"I don't know, I just thought you would want someone to greet you when you recovered," he folded his arms and stood, looking off at the mountains.

She stared up at him, holding in a sigh. He hadn't changed at all.

"Well, are you gonna stop staring at me and get up?" He glanced down at her. He reached his hand towards her and she took it, letting him pull her off the ground.

"Come on and get on my back. I'm pretty sure the others will be excited to see you," he let her jump onto him and he ran towards the village.

Everything could go back to normal. The trees raced by as he stared forward, watching the path. Her body heat once again warmed his back as he carried her through the forest, and her scent filled his mind, not overwhelming, but a simple reminder of how his world should be, never wishing to be without her again.