Chapter 3: The pearl breaks

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, no clouds could be seen in the light blue sky. The birds hurried happily in the trees and there was a light summer breeze. The smell of fresh grass was in the air and many butterflies flew from flower to flower.
Everyone would have been happy about such a summer, sit on the grass and listen to the hum of the bees, but one of them couldn't enjoy it at all.
Sadly, he sat in the tall grass and stared sadly at the sky. It was the first time that she was gone for so long. He had only told her a few days or even weeks ago (he didn't remember that because he had stopped counting the days) that he loved her.
This white-haired Hanyou let himself fall back into the grass. Suddenly he heard a faint 'plotsch' and immediately straightened up again. A look behind him told him what he was lying on.
"Myouga, do you have to watch me every step of the way?"he grumbled and crossed your arms.
"Inu Yasha-sama, I'm sorry," the flea ghost rattled and struggled to get up again. Then he hopped onto Inu Yasha's shoulder, a little baffled.
"Forgive me, but this time I was really here by chance!", The flea began to talk and you could tell that he was nervous. When the Hanyou gave him a sharp look, the little one was completely exhausted and began to tremble.
"Waaaah, forgive me, forgive me!" He shouted and fell to his knees. Inuyasha took a deep breath and blew hard once. The flea immediately sailed off his shoulder and landed roughly on the grass. "Ouch ...", he mumbled, but let the complaints stay this time because he had gotten off well anyway. He got up again and rubbed his back. He watched the hanyou for a while until he sat cross-legged next to him and crossed his arms.
The flea kept glancing at the other person.
Inuyasha had her eyes closed and again his thoughts were with Kagome. He wondered where she was now, what she was doing, whether she was having fun, whether she missed him, whether she loved him too, when she would come back ...
Myouga had become quite bored by now and he too had closed his eyes and dozed off.
Without saying a word, Inuyasha got up slowly and took slow steps into the forest, where he had his peace and quiet and no annoying flea sat next to him.

A faint snoring could be heard in the middle of the meadow and Myouga had sunk into the grass and was sleeping peacefully. He mumbled indistinct stuff and only woke up when he felt a tickle on his nose. In his sleep he opened his mouth and took a deep breath. With a loud "Haaaatschiiiii !!!" he sneezed and blinked sleepily. He just saw how the butterfly - the cause of his sneezing fit - flew away.He straightened up and still looked around sleepily.
“Ah, a nap like that feels good, doesn't it Inu Ya-?” His mouth fell open when he saw that the Hanyou was gone.
"Aaaaaah, Sango and Miroku are killing me !!!" he shouted, jumping around wildly on the spot.

Meanwhile Inuyasha strode through the green forest, unaware of the worries of the flea, and savored the moment with all his senses. He sat down by a tree and looked up. Above him the treetops of many trees crossed and the light only fell in to a limited extent. But you could see exactly where it fell, then many small, yellow points of light danced on the floor. The wind made the branches sway and the dots dance too. The gentle breeze caressed Inuyasha's skin and again he closed his eyes and listened to the silence of the forest. His ears twitched slightly at the chirping of birds that suddenly flew wildly from the trees. Inuyasha immediately opened his eyes because he had noticed something too. Immediately he jumped up and sniffed.
He wanted to run away, but something stopped him. Yet he loved Kagome ...
Suddenly he saw a Shinidamachuu fly past him. There was no longer any doubt that she was here.
"Kikyou ...." Inu Yasha breathed, but immediately thought of Kagome again. He started off with a jerk and wanted to leave the clearing.
Kikyou had observed the hanyou and was now emerging from behind a tree.
“Inuyasha!” His eyes widened when he heard that plaintive voice. Slowly he turned around and looked into Kikyou's sad eyes. With a gulp he stopped and now that he was standing he couldn't get his feet to run again either.
“Inuyasha, why are you running away?” It was no more than a whisper, but he understood her clearly and her calm voice made him shiver. She walked up to him with slow steps and stopped right in front of him."My dear Inuyasha ..." she smiled and looked at him closely.
But he couldn't look her in the eye and he stood with bowed head, not knowing what to do. He wanted to leave, even if it was just Kikyou ... he was afraid that all his feelings for this Miko would revive and push Kagome out of his heart.
His eyes widened when he suddenly heard a low whimper. His head spun around.
Yes, it was possible. There she stood - with sad eyes, between two large trees, her body full of these points of light - Kagome. Tears welled up in her eyes when she saw Inu Yasha with Kikyou and she could not suppress a whimper. That was exactly what Inuyasha had drawn attention to her.
"Kagome ... I-" he started, but she interrupted him.
“Save your poor words!” Tears ran from her large, shiny eyes, ran down her cheeks until they reached her chin and dripped down.Her hands were shaking and she didn't even notice that she was dropping it.
With a loud clang and clang, the lovers' pearl shattered against a small, pointed stone on the forest floor.

~ * ~

Kagome winced when she heard the unpleasant sound and as if in a trance she looked at the floor. Only slowly did she realize what she had just let go of.
Her eyes widened when she saw that the pearl had disintegrated into a thousand small splinters and she was eerily reminiscent of the Shikon no Tama, which had also shattered.
Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes and she slowly knelt on the forest floor. "No ..." she breathed and picked up a splinter. She would have loved to slap herself now. She held the small splinter in the sunlight and it sparkled brightly in her hand. It was then that she remembered the old woman's words in the shop.

"They say that if the pearl should ever break, a great misfortune would happen."The dark-haired woman had to swallow. What was the misfortune that Givera had spoken of? Would Inuyasha choose Kikyou?
At this thought Kagome had to whimper again and she felt Inu Yasha's gaze on her. But she didn't have the strength or the courage to look him in the eye. She got up again and now completely clasped the splinter in her hand.
Her hand clenched into a fist and her whole body was trembling. The two pointed ends of the splinter burrowed lightly into her skin, but she didn't feel the pain in her hand. She only felt it in her heart. With her head bowed, she turned and started walking. At first slowly, then faster and faster, until she finally ran. Her legs didn't really want to obey her and her consciousness told her to turn back, but she could no longer bear the sight. Running faster and faster and not looking back, Kagome came rushing out of the forest.The miko missed a stone and stumbled. "Nnh ..." She hadn't let go of the splinter even during her fall, but just gripped it tighter. Slowly she got up again and ran on. Her knees were chafed and her arms and legs were scratched, which was due to the sprint through the forest.
Furthermore, she did not pay attention to the pain, but kept running ... towards the well. She just wanted to go home now.

The wind blew violently through the forest and the hair of the two, who were still standing there, fluttered wildly. Inuyasha was still staring at the point where Kagome had previously stood. His eyes gleamed at one point, his body seemed completely calm, but a whirlwind of thoughts seemed to have broken out in his head.
His heart pounded hard on his chest; now he had come - the moment when he had to make a decision.Kikyou seemed rather bored with the whole thing. When the other Miko showed up, she just said nothing and just watched everything. But since this was gone, she was able to continue her conversation with the Hanyou.
"Inuyasha ..." she breathed again in her calm voice. It sounded like a pleading to his ears - a pleading for a decision. The white-haired man swallowed and then looked directly into her eyes.
They looked at each other like that for a while, until Kikyou finally decided to break the silence ... with a kiss. She leaned over and closed her eyes. Inuyasha noticed in time what she was up to and said, even if it was really difficult for him:
"No, Kikyou ... I've already made up my mind." Then he lowered his head and closed his eyes as well.
"For Kagome."
Kikyou thought he had misheard. "I beg your pardon?" She croaked in disbelief and stared at him in disbelief. She shook her head slightly, as if she did not want to admit what I had just said."No ..." She was about to do something - kill Inuyasha with herself, kiss him against his will or whatever - but Inuyasha never found out, because he just turned away and started walking with quick steps. He didn't look back, didn't look around, but whispered only four little words to Kikyou, never to see her again.
"I am sorry."

Arrived at the fountain, which connected her time with the Inuyasha era, Kagome simply jumped in without even looking at the green trees, the cloudless sky or the further meadows of flowers. As so often before, she was enveloped in blue light, literally carrying her home.
When she was back on solid ground, she climbed out of the well and found herself in the shrine.
She still hadn't calmed