Disclaimer: Inuyasha has and will never be mine. This is merely for entertainment and enjoyment, and certainly not for profit.

Author's Note: This story was written for Prompt #30 - Tear at iy_themes on LiveJournal. It won 3rd place.

"Kagome!"

Kagome quickly turned to face Inuyasha. The bird youkai that Inuyasha was fighting had forgotten about the hanyou. It lunged at the miko and, panicked, Kagome threw her arms around her head and ducked to her right, losing her balance and falling onto her side. The youkai's sharp beak snapped at Kagome as she fell, tearing the white fabric of her blouse.

Inuyasha pushed himself up from the ground, Tessaiga pulsing at his side. "Kagome!" The hanyou sprinted at the youkai, swinging Tessaiga above his head in a deadly arch as the blade struck its target. The youkai twitched before lying still, but Inuyasha had already sheathed Tessaiga and turned his attentions to Kagome. He knelt down by her side. "Are you all right?"

"Inuyasha, I'm fine." Kagome sat up and saw the skeptical glare Inuyasha was giving her. "Really, I am! It's just a scratch."

"That - that doesn't matter!" Inuyasha sputtered. "You're still hurt!" He took her arm in his hands, inspecting it. A thin line of blood trickled from the cut, dyeing the surrounding fabric a vibrant red. It wasn't deep, but Inuyasha couldn't help feeling ashamed. He carefully stroked his thumb over the wound, rubbing away the blood that had gathered on her skin.

Kagome's eyes watched his thumb. "Inuyasha..."

"That thing hurt you, Kagome. And I couldn't protect you." The hanyou kept his gaze on her arm, refusing to look directly at her. Kagome noticed his ears droop slightly. She sighed.

"You're not always going to be there to protect me, Inuyasha."

"Wha – what?" Golden eyes locked upon hers. His thumb had stilled, his body paralyzed at her words. She sighed again, removing her arm from his grasp and pulling her knees into her chest.

"You know as well as I do, Inuyasha. After we find all of the jewel shards, you're going to choose Kikyou and I'll be going home." Kagome rested her chin on her knees and dropped their eye contact. She maintained the calm, matter-of-fact demeanor on the outside, despite the pain that was suffocating her heart on the inside. "You won't be there to protect me anymore."

She heard his intake of breath, felt the tensing of his muscles. His thoughts were reeling. No! It wasn't supposed to be like that. Desperate for her to understand, he grabbed her hands. "No! Dammit, Kagome! You're not going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere!"

Kagome tentatively lifted her gaze, confused. "But... Kikyou..."

"Forget about Kikyou! Why can't you understand that I always want to be with you!"

It was Kagome's turn to freeze. His eyes were full of emotions he couldn't quite put into words. I always want to be with you... The words echoed in her mind. It couldn't be...

The silence pressed down upon the couple. Inuyasha was suddenly aware that he had her full attention. "Kagome... I want to be there –" He paused, his eyes falling to the tear in her clothes. "– I always want to be there. If you ever got hurt, I mean, really hurt, I don't think I could ever forgive myself for failing to protect you."

Kagome's chest still felt tight, but the pain from before had disappeared. In its absence, her heart beat rapidly, filling her with hope. "Inuyasha... Are you sure you're telling me the truth?"

"Keh, of course I am!" Inuyasha's ears twitched as he peeked at Kagome out of the corner of his eye, smiling at the sight of her flushed skin. Slowly taking his hands from hers, he stood and walked to the yellow backpack she carried. He dug through the contents, easily finding the first aid kit. Kagome's watched his every move as he returned to her with a bandage. She did not complain this time when he took her arm in his hands. The cut had stopped bleeding, but he still placed the bandage carefully on her arm.

Inuyasha hesitated at her side before standing once again, this time offering his hand to her. "Let's go find the others."

The young miko smiled and gratefully accepted his hand. She squeezed it affectionately, her eyes locking with his, as he returned her smile. Inuyasha stooped to pick up her backpack before leading her back to the river where they had left their friends earlier that morning. He almost missed Kagome's faint whisper as they walked together through the forest.

"And I always want to be with you..."