Unnecessary crap: I don't own Inuyasha. DUH!

This story is short but sweet. My favorite kind. )

The Forest: (Oneshot)

The forest seemed endless, with dense trees reaching at us from every angle. The three of us were having trouble navigating the path and it was becoming increasingly difficult as the sun slowly sank in the sky. Branches slapped my face, but still we pressed onwards. My muscles burned with exhaustion and my hair became gnarled with twigs.

"Inuyasha!" I called to the hanyo traveling further ahead. His silver hair was flying out behind him and he did not slow his pace. "Inuyasha, can we please stop for a bit?"

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, "Calm down Kagome, we'll be there soon!" He trudged forward, having a much easier time than I getting through the thick brush.

"I want to stop too Inuyasha! It's hard for me to keep up because I'm smaller than you!" Squealed our little kitsune friend Shippou. He was tripping left and right, and had to resort to various types of fox magic to keep pace with the red-clad Inuyasha. One minute he was his cute little self, and the next he was a floating bubble, a shape that he could not maintain for very long.

I stumbled clumsily. I was beyond tired and it was now quite dark. The cold crept through the night air as if lead by lonely spirits. Shadows stared from behind trees, watching us. A chill ran down my spine and Shippou had resorted to clutching my arm. He was trembling.

"Inuyasha, please!" I called.

He stopped suddenly, frustration etched in his face. "You want to rest?" he snarled. He threw the Tetsaiga to the ground with a dull thump. "Then let's rest." Inuyasha crossed his arms and plopped down against the nearest tree, closing his eyes.

I was too tired to chastise him for his rude behavior. I sighed and dropped to the forest floor, relieved to be off my blistered feet. I would need to get better shoes when I returned home again. Shippou squealed in delight. "Finally! We're taking a break!" and found a rock to curl up on. He was soon asleep.

I watched the snoozing cub and laughed a bit. "It's amazing how carefree and cute he is." I said.

Inuyasha scoffed, "Yeah, amazing. Amazing that the only way to shut him up is to let him sleep." He stood, picking up his Tetsaiga and sniffing the air suspiciously. He reached for my backpack and pulled out a large water canteen that was nearly empty. "Well we might as well camp here tonight. I'm going to go look for water. Why don't you find some firewood or something?" He walked off before I could reply.

I stared after him as he disappeared into the dense forest, sticking my tongue out and making a face at him for being such a jerk. I knew he wouldn't see it, but it made me feel better anyway. I stood and set off on my search. Kindling and fallen branches that we could break into smaller pieces for the firewood were bound to be abundant in this area. I did not want to stray too far from the sleeping Shippou, but found myself lost anyway after following a trail of particularly useful looking wood. It was pitch black all around me and I could barely see my own hand in front of my face. The darkness consumed everything as I tried my best to find our chosen campsite again. Panic began to bubble in my stomach as the minutes passed. I clutched my bundle of firewood, wishing that I had Inuyasha's keen sense of smell. I began to notice small details of my surroundings. Every sound, every movement caused goose bumps to rise on my skin.

Then my muscles tensed. There was something watching me. I continued my pace so as not to startle whatever it was into attacking me, but scanned the trees for signs. Counting in my head, I planned when I would make my escape. I walked slowly, as if I were completely unaware of the threatening presence until…

I dropped the firewood and sprinted off into the darkness, running wildly, completely unaware of where I was going. I could hear my feet slapping the forest floor, crunching twigs and leaves in their path. I glanced back to see the bat-demon burst from the cover of trees, mouth open and eyes glistening red. It glided gracefully after my clumsy form, claws at the ready.

Twigs scratched at my legs, arms, and face. My heart beat rapidly and my eyes scanned for some clue that would lead me to safety. There were none. I stumbled onward, muscles screaming for rest and still I could not find the campsite.

Suddenly I was on the ground, pain pulsing from my right ankle and tearing through my leg. My foot had caught in a gnarled tree root and I had fallen. I tried my best to get up but to no avail, my ankle was definitely injured, and there was a bloody gash down my calf. The bat-demon screeched in triumph now that it had cornered it's prey. Drool flew from it's fangs as it moved steadily closer, gangly and misshapen looking, looming above me, about to strike…

"TETSAIGA!" I saw a flash of bright cold steel in the darkness. A red form came soaring out of the trees. Inuyasha screamed as he struck the demon, making a clean slash across its front. The demon fell to the ground, mangled and very obviously dead.

Inuyasha sheathed his blade and stood over the defeated for a moment. Then he ran to me. "Kagome," I shuddered, "Are you all right?" His amber eyes were filled with concern.

"Yes, I-I think so." I murmured, "But my leg-" Inuyasha poked at my injured ankle and I yelped in pain. "Hey! What did you do that for?!"

"Well sorry! I was just checking it!" He examined the ankle and the bloody gash. "Yeah, it's probably sprained. It'll heal up okay, but don't walk on it for now." He stood, and without any warning, lifted me off the ground like a baby. "I'll carry you back." He said simply.

"Okay…" I whispered as we sped through the trees.

Back at the campsite Shippou was still sleeping on his rock and the canteen of water sat beside him, now quite full. Inuyasha placed me carefully against a tree. He ripped some material from the shirt he was wearing under his haori and tied it around the deep gash on my leg, successfully stopping the blood flow. Leaning in close and speaking more gently than ever before he said, "I'm going to go retrieve the firewood, I'll be back in a second, just sit tight… Don't worry."

Once he returned, Inuyasha went to work and quickly make a roaring fire. The branches crackled and gave a more relaxed atmosphere to the immediate area. It was, however getting to be ridiculously cold and as the minutes wore on, the fire did less and less to help this. I shifted my weight in an attempt to reach for my backpack, but a terrible pain shot from my ankle and through the rest of my leg. I cried out, but managed to stifle it enough to avoid waking Shippou.

Inuyasha walked over, "You okay?" he whispered.

"I'm fine," I assured him, "Just a little cold to be honest. Could you… check my bag for a sweater or blanket or something?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Yeah, sure." He rummaged through the pack but didn't manage to find anything. I cursed myself silently for being dumb enough to forget how cold the nights here could be. I hugged myself tightly in an attempt to keep the warm in and leaned against the tree, closing my eyes.

Then, quite unexpectedly, Inuyasha sat against the tree beside me. He took off his haori and placed it over both of our shoulders so that we were now sharing it and each other's warmth. He pulled me closer with his free arm and I suddenly felt both safe and quite comfortable, as if there were no such thing as cold at all. I looked up at him to find that he was staring determinedly in the opposite direction. "Don't get any funny ideas," he said sharply, "I'm only doing this because you're cold."

I remained silent, focusing my gaze on the ground. In a moment though I leaned my head against his shoulder, smiling. I knew him all too well by now. I touched his silvery hair with my fingertips, and for once he did not pull away. As I drifted into sleep I could faintly feel him rest his chin on my head and hold me tighter.

"Thank you… Inuyasha…" I whispered.