Somewhere in Time

Consequences (and a bit of a surprise at the end)

Miroku silently watched from the sidelines as Sango rounded on the muted hanyou staring blankly at the direction where Sesshomaru and Kagome disappeared to.

All of a sudden, the crisp sound of a slap echoed across the silent hill. "How dare you, Inuyasha? How dare you? You were just going to let Kagome die like that? And for what? For her?" She pointed at the still form of Kikyo lying prostrate against a tree nearby. The clay woman was unconscious.

"I-I..." Inuyasha began, but Sango was not finished.

"How many times did Kagome risk her life for you? Have you forgotten who was it who always pulled you back from your demon form? Or Kagome simply means nothing to you?"

"No! She's everything to me!" Inuyasha responded firmly, then his amber eyes swiveled to Kikyo. "I-it's just..."

"Enough, Inuyasha. Your choice is clear to us. You chose to break Kagome's heart." Sango turned her back to him and grimly slung the hiraikotsu over her shoulder. Her blazing eyes turned to Miroku. "Let's go back to Kaede's village. Sesshomaru might bring her there before heading to the well."

The monk stood rooted to the ground. He was torn between talking to his hanyou friend or following the girl he loved. Casting one last regretful look at Inuyasha, he hung his head and quietly trudged behind Sango and Kirara.

###

He wanted to stop his friends from walking away, but he couldn't.

I'm sorry, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara...

...Kagome.

His chest hurt. It broke his heart to have to choose between her and Kikyo. It was hard to swallow his friends' anger and Kagome's pain when he couldn't tell them why he had to choose Kikyo over everything.

Even if it meant her reincarnation's death.

Silently, he walked towards the unconscious form of Kikyo and sat beside her. He held her cold hand and watched as her shinidamachu companions brought orbs of soul to re-animate her limp body.

A few moments later, her eyes slowly opened and regarded him blankly.

"Kikyo! Are you all right?" he asked with worry.

"You chose me," she said in her low voice.

"I will always choose you."

Kikyo looked at him seriously. "Naraku knows, Inuyasha. That's how he knew to play that trick between me and Kagome. Where is she?"

The hanyou looked down and gritted his teeth in quiet anger. "Sesshomaru saved her and took her away."

This seemed to surprise Kikyo but did not say anything about it. After a while, she gently reached out and cupped Inuyasha's face with her right hand. "You didn't tell them, did you?"

"How could I?" he whispered. "I've done enough damage."

Kikyo took back her hand. "You have to tell them or they will find it out themselves one way or another."

Inuyasha's face crumpled in desperation and guilt. "I can't."

Suddenly, Kikyo's soul collectors surrounded her and slowly lifted her from the ground. Her long, black hair billowed as she ascended and her narrow eyes sadly watched him below. "You must. Naraku will use it against you next time, that's for sure. He has most of the Shikon shards now and he grows stronger by the minute. The final battle nears. Fix your friends' enmity against you and rebuild your pack. We won't stand a chance without their help."

Inuyasha listened silently and once more, guilt washed over him. He gazed longingly at her as she ascended higher in the night sky, leaving him alone in the desolated hill.

When she was gone, he started walking down the steep slope. He had many things to think about before reaching Keade's village and the Bone Eater's Well.

We need to talk, Kagome.

**Author's Note:

I will publish a never-before-seen chapter tomorrow. For the old readers, it is important that you read this new chapter as well, because this is vital to the plot. From this point on, there will be added chapters in between old ones to strengthen the story.

Again, thank you so much for loving my fan fiction. I really appreciate you all.