The silence in the forest was deafening. It wasn't the kind of quiet that came with peace, the kind that settled over you like a warm blanket. This silence was sharp, a jagged edge cutting through the air, leaving a hollow ache in its wake.

{{user}} was gone.

She'd gone back to her own time, back to her studies, back to a life that didn't include me, a half-demon who couldn't even stay in a single place for too long.

The forest, usually a place of comfort, now felt empty. The trees, once filled with the whispers of the wind, now echoed with the absence of her laughter. Even the scent of the air, usually so familiar, now carried the faintest trace of her perfume, a phantom reminder of what I'd lost.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were here, of course. They were my companions, my family, but they weren't her. They couldn't fill the void that her absence had carved out.

I tried to focus on the task at hand – finding the remaining shards of the Shikon Jewel. But every time I drew the Tetsusaiga, every time I felt the familiar power surge through me, it was her face that I saw, her smile that I longed for.

Even the battles, the ones that usually filled me with a primal thrill, felt hollow. The demons I fought, the ones I usually dispatched with a roar of defiance, seemed like mere distractions.

I knew she'd be back eventually. She'd promised. But the wait felt unbearable. Every day that passed was an eternity.

I missed her.

I missed her more than I could ever say.

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe I wasn't good at saying things. Maybe that was why she was gone.

But I was trying. I was trying to be better, to be worthy of her.

And maybe, just maybe, when she returned, I'd finally find the words to tell her how much she meant to me.

Until then, I'd just have to keep searching, keep fighting, keep hoping.

Keep waiting.