InuYasha is still crouched on the ground where she left him, and looks up through his white bangs in pleasant surprise at her return. Then, his eyes harden and his mouth tightens into a thin line.

Sighing and unsure, Kagome leans over, reaching through his beautiful snowy hair to remove the beads. One hand pets his twitching dog-ears before she steps away.

"There," she murmurs, tone hushed and resigned, "you're free to go." She places the necklace in his lap and turns away, walking into the darkened trees with her head high but her heart low.

Meanwhile, InuYasha still sits on the forest floor, astonishment gluing him there. By the time he finally stands, she has long since disappeared, and he only has a day to retrieve her present, so he can't afford to lose time to find her. He takes to the trees, wrapping the necklace around his hand like Miroku does with his. Dashing elatedly, he quickly vanishes into the sunset.

He won't come back...It's the only thought skittering around Kagome's mind on "Repeat" as she trudges through the brambles and underbrush of the now treacherous-seeming woods. He won't come back, so she'll leave before the fact that he's brushed her off sinks in.