The Lonely Heart

A New Day

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi / the television series are produced by Sunrise.

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When the sun rose gently the next morning, the rays shone lightly through the trees onto the resting group. The daiyōkai was the first awoken from his light slumber, and he scanned the area for any sense of auras, demonic or not. He came up empty handed, as he had the previous night when he scanned after the miko had said she was running. This put him at ease, but he dare not show any emotion, for there was no reason to worry in the first place it was more out of pure habit. He gazed at the sleeping miko, her arms still protectively wrapped around the ningen child who was cuddled close to her. It truly was a beautiful sight, and he couldn't help it when part of his lip twitched up in a smirk.

He continued to gaze, imagining what life would be like in his grand home with the two ningens laying in front of him. He thought of how their laughter would fill the halls, of how they would make many memories together. Then he frowned, knowing that it would never happen. He wouldn't assume she would accept such a future, for he knew her heart longed for another and he could never take a ningen as a mate. Not only would he have to watch her grow old and die, he would be a laughing stock and lose his lands and status. It wouldn't even matter since she obviously could never love him, he whom attempted to kill her multiple times.

~~~~Back at Kaede's Village~~~~

It wasn't until mid morning that the hanyō slipped back inside the hut where his friends slept, and they were still asleep. Except one, who he realized wasn't present and taken her backpack with her. Panicking, he searched the area for her scent, barely picking it up. It was very faint, as if she left hours ago. He frantically woke up his friends, alerting them of their missing miko, silently cursing himself for leaving in the middle of the night.

"I can barely pick up her scent, but its there. Let's not waste any time." Inuyasha said with a huff.

The demon slayer, monk and kit nodded in agreement. The small two-tailed demon fox trotted outside before transforming into her bigger form, waiting patiently as the demon slayer, monk and kit jumped on her back. Once they were on, the hanyō took off running in the direction of the miko's scent, the demon fox following close behind.

Please be okay Kagome, if anything happens to you I would never forgive myself for leaving last night.

They continued to follow her scent, wondering just how far she'd gone and why she'd run off on her own. The demon slayer had an inkling, but she dared not to voice it. She could smell the dead miko all over the hanyō, she knew where he had been. It wouldn't surprise her that her friend left because of a broken heart caused by the selfish bastard. The monk and kit noticed the smell as well, but they too kept their mouths shut. All they could do was hope she was okay.

By mid afternoon, they came across the same brook that Kagome had stopped at. Inuyasha's nose scrunched up at the smell of his daiyōkai brother, and he growled furiously. Their scent ended here, meaning the western lord had taken her hostage most likely.

"Damnit Sesshōmaru! I'm going to kill him if he hurts Kagome!!" The hanyō voiced his irritation, startling the group beside him.

How were they going to find her now? They knew the lands he owned but never knew where his residence was. They could spend days looking and who knows what could happen to Kagome by then!

Unbeknownst to the group, a little flea happened to be in the area and jumped up onto Inuyasha's shoulder before sucking blood out of his neck. Instinctively, the hanyō smacked his neck and flattened the offending flea. When the flea regained his shape, he was pinched between Inuyasha's fingers as the hanyō glared at him.