I meant to have this uploaded by this morning, but I was a little late with church and all with Daylight Savings Time, so I hope this is still good enough for all of you. It's a bit shorter than my previous chapters, and I have to admit, that this chapter was really hard to write. But I hope it's sufficient enough for all of you.

You learn more of the plot in this chapter, and more into the past relationship of Kagome and Inuyasha.

Oh, and before I forget, I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters, but let's face it...if I did, I probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it :)

Chapter Six

Five Years Earlier

Kagome stared back at the hanyou, deep confusion in her chocolate brown eyes. The words he was saying made no sense to her, and yet, he was speaking them to her. She wasn't dreaming, wasn't half asleep…

"What…"She asked, trying to make the question come out. "What are you trying to say?"

Inuyasha looked at her and sighed. "Kagome…I…can't give you what you want."

"You're all I want, Inuyasha." She explained.

He shook his head. "No, you want more. You're just too stubborn to see it."

Kagome mimicked him shaking his head by shaking her own side to side, vehemently telling him no. The others never got to see this side of him, but Kagome did. The soft side, where he wasn't yelling or being rude. He was sincere and real. But now he was hurting her, without even realizing it.

"I'm not being stubborn. I told you I would stay with you."

"A promise you never should have made." He told her, making her gasp and her eyes grow wide. "One of these days, Kagome, you're gonna want to get married and have babies and all that girly stuff. I can't give that to you, and I won't hold you to your promise. Let's make it official." He held out his hand.

Kagome stared at his outstretched hand. Make it official? What she wanted, REALLY wanted, was to make THEM official, but she knew that Inuyasha wasn't ready for that now. By the looks of it, he never would be. His words felt like a slap in the face, and her stomach filled with dread. In truth, she never imagined her life with anyone else other than him. She…loved him, and knew that deep in her heart, she would never love another man the same way.

Slowly, she stood up, dusting off her green pleated skirt. Without meeting his gaze, Kagome spoke, keeping her eyes only on the ground. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But I can't."

XXXXX

Back in the present

"Such pretty, delicate flowers." The woman smiled, caressing the flower petals before her that were unlike the ones in her hair.

"Mistress Hanako?" A timid voice called out her name, and she twirled around to meet the owner, her dress skirt swirling around her ankles gracefully.

Hanako smiled. "Jaken. Good, you're here. Is everyone in their place?"

The imp nodded, clutching his staff tightly. "Y-yes, my Lady. They are all in that young human's home."

Hanako smiled. "Good. Then the shards are in place?"

Again, Jaken nodded, trembling slightly. If his Lord ever found out about this….he shuddered to think about it.

The young sorceress walked over to a small glass table, where a small, pink jewel rested on a clean cloth. Muttering under her breath, she reached out and touched one fingertip to the replica of the Shikon Jewel. The color changed, shifting from a pale pink to a dark black within seconds.

"There." She said with satisfaction. "Now, the shards embedded into their hearts will become tainted as well." She giggled, tipping her head back as she did so. "That girl won't know what hit her."

"M-my Lady?" Jaken whispered. "Pray tell me why you wish to harm the girl? She has already purified the jewel. It cannot be returned."

Hanako glared at the imp, making him cringe. "I want her powers. It's as simple as that. She stole from my cousin her beauty, and her life. I'm simply repeating what my cousin wasn't able to finish. Now that I've tainted this replica, the other fake shards will cause serious doubts in all of her friend's hearts. They'll become angry. Kagome will become depressed, and soon enough ask for me. And when she does…"Hanako trailed off, laughing again.

Jaken backed a few feet away from the demonic aura that was rolling off Hanako. Preserving his life was his priority, and he wasn't going to change that now.

XXXXXXX

Nothing had changed. The shrine was exactly the way it had been before she had left. Kagome couldn't quite understand why the hairs on the back of her neck were rising. Everything was calm, peaceful…almost perfect.

But something still wasn't sitting right with her. She just didn't know what.

Ahead of her, just outside the back door, all of her friends were enjoying the warm day. Miroku sat close to Sango, just as Ayame did to Kouga. Inuyasha sat across from both of them, Shippo near his knee, Kila in front of him, trying to reach up to touch his ears. He leaned away, but hadn't pushed her away yet. Kagome smiled at the exchange.

Inuyasha. He was there, just a few feet away from her, and yet, she couldn't move her feet to take her place beside him. Maybe it was because she didn't know if she still had a place with him. If he still wanted her by his side.

Fear was a curious thing. There were so many things that a person wouldn't do because they were afraid, and right now, Kagome was terrified of sitting next to Inuyasha. Afraid he would reject her…

"Kagome!"

Kagome turned her head to the sound of her Mother's voice.

"Mama." She greeted her warmly.

"Why aren't you sitting with your friends? It's such a lovely day out. You should be enjoying the sun, not hiding in the shade." Her mom grinned, wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulder.

"I was just thinking." Kagome explained. "Maybe too much." She gave off a half smile.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Her mom asked. "Having them, your friends, back."

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's…something else. I can't really explain it. I just feel like something is going to happen, just waiting to happen. And I don't know if I'll like it or not."

Her mom smiled. "I raised a strong daughter. You'll be able to handle it. You can handle anything."

Not everything, Kagome thought sadly. She was thinking of everything she hadn't handled. Especially Donavan…she hadn't been strong then at all.

Kagome took in a deep breath. "You're right, Mama. I'm gonna go sit with them." Her mom smiled, hugging her quickly before walking back into the house. Kagome watched her for a moment before taking another deep breath, and stepping off the patio, ready to join her friends.

I apologize for the shortness! Next one will be longer, I hope!

Cyber cookies to anyone who can tell me what Hanako means!

Review please! They really make my day! :D