Title: The Aftermath

Type: One-Shot

Anime: Inuyasha

Pairing: Inuyasha x Kagome

Rating: K+

"Thank God you're alright, Kagome. You could have bled to death if you'd restraint yourself some more. Why didn't ye tell the others?"

Kagome looked on the ground, her eyes hidden by her bangs. "I… Didn't want to depress anyone anymore. After the battle with Kaguya everyone has been busy with Naraku's reappearing. I couldn't bother them, let alone tell Inuyasha about it."

"I understand ye. But ye should take it easy for a few days, a week maybe. Your sides need proper rest to recover fully. If ye strain yourself more the wounds will reopen."

"I understand. Thank you, Kaede-baa-chan." The young priestess answered with a smile, "Please don't tell Inuyasha about it."

"Don't ye worry, child, I won't."

Kagome smiled yet again and the older woman sent her off. As soon as she got out of the hut, she was greeted by her friends.

"How did it go, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked with a slight frown. He had known Kagome was injured and strained herself during their trip to Kaede's village.

He had confronted her about it, but she shushed him not to tell the others. Eventually, Sango learned as well. Shippo, too. The one who remained in the dark was Inuyasha.

"I'm fine now. I'll need to change the bandages every once in a while, but other from that nothing's wrong." She faked a smile to hide her pain through the wounds.

Sango and Miroku let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. We were worried it would be much worse." Sango smiled and went to hug her friend.

Inuyasha watched the scene, silent. "Kagome, you sure you're alright?" He sounded worried.

Said girl turned to him and poked his chest, "Don't sound so worried Inuyasha. I'm fine." She joked casually.

"Keh! Who the hell's worried?!" he dismissed her with his back turned at her. Kagome frowned with a sheepish smile. On the inside, she was relieved. It's better if he doesn't know.

Dinner at Kaede's had been energetic as ever. There were lots of chats and jokes, to release the tension for a while.

Everyone soon retired to their beds; Sango and Miroku decided to camp outside to keep guard, and Kagome and Inuyasha stayed in Kaede's hut.

As usual, Inuyasha stood an arm's reach of Kagome, his eyes closed as he slept soundly; his senses, however, were always alert.

In the dark night he could hear whimpers once in a while. He cracked open an eye and frowned when he saw Kagome tossing and turning in her sleep.

She was silently moaning, her expression a pained one.

Inuyasha stared at her, his eyes now fully open. Was the pain that much? But she said she was alrigh- He mentally slapped his forehead. She was lying back then! How can I be so stupid?

He remembered vividly when they fled Kaguya's evaporating castle, that his claws were covered in blood. Kagome's blood. He looked over at her. Sango and Miroku were by her side.

"Are you alright, Kagome-chan? Don't push yourself.." Sango frowned. Couldn't they just stop and rest?

"Don't worry about it, Sango-chan! I'm fine, see?" Kagome stated playfully while running forward to catch up with Shippo.

"It's good she's alright, but…" Miroku allowed himself a pained sigh, "The stabs she received from Inuyasha had been quite deep…"

"Even so, let's believe her for now. See? She seems fine." She forced a smile at the monk.

"Indeed." He smiled back and continued on his way.

Inuyasha looked at his hands. They were clean now, but he could see stains of Kagome's blood on them from time to time. A deep scowl was plastered on his face.

I hurt Kagome.

While she was trying to save me, I ended up hurting her.

Unconsciously, his fingers touched his mouth. The feeling of her soft lips pressed on his own was still lingering. Kagome…

"I love you as a half-demon, Inuyasha."

He would never forget these words. The words that saved him back then.

Soon Kagome stopped whimpering and slept peacefully. Inuyasha, however, never stopped looking at her through the night. What have I done?

Two days later, Miroku and Sango had to leave on a short mission. A village a few miles ahead has been attacked by demons, and they were to exterminate them. Shippo tagged along after much convincing by Kagome that he shouldn't worry about her and should go help the others.

Inuyasha wanted to go with them, too, but they ushered him to stay with Kagome. They could handle the small fry by themselves.

"Take care, Sango-chan, Miroku-sama. You, too, Shipo-chan, be careful there, okay?" Kagome smiled and handed Shippo back to Miroku.

"You too, Kagome-sama, take care of yourself." Miroku gave her a hug.

"Don't overexert yourself, ne?" Sango hugged her friend as well.

"I'll make sure to. Thank you guys!" the priestess smiled yet again and waved to her retreating friends.

"Inuyasha, protect Kagome at all times." The monk warned the half-demon.

"Keh! What else is there for me to do here apart from guarding this wench?!" he snapped angrily.

Kagome's eye twitched. "Inuyasha, Osuwari."

"Nyaarrrgghhff.." he plummeted to the ground mercilessly.

"So then, see you in a few days!" she waved happily.

The spell soon wore off and Inuyasha lifted his head, his golden eyes staring daggers at her. "The hell was that for, Kagome!"

She huffed at him and walked away pouting, "I'm going to the river, don't you dare follow me!" she yelled from her back.

It was so nice to bathe in the river. The water was averagely cold, but at this season it was cool enough for her to handle. Kaede came with her, to wash her clothes and change Kagome's bandages when she was done. He handed her a fairly larger than her red haori to wear until her clothes were fully dried.

Kagome moved a bit further from the old woman, and reached a remote place behind a few bushes. She breathed a sigh and sat down on a large rock, placing the piece of clothing beside her and slowly stripping out of her uniform.

Inuyasha was gazing at the schoolgirl from above silently. He was seated on a branch of a high tree, "standing guard" for her as he would say.

He heard her pulling at her clothes and looked down with an intense gaze. T other times he would be blushing like mad to see her naked, but now it was different. He wanted to see them. He wanted to see for himself the damage he had done to her.

Soon enough, he witnessed it.

Kagome removed her school blouse and revealed bandages wrapped across her chest. There were blood stains on them, indicating that the wounds had opened sometime before. Maybe that night.. The half-demon thought with a sad frown, his ears drooping and touching his skull.

The young woman proceeded to softly touch the bandaged spots and breathe a sigh of hopelessness. She removed the rest of her clothes and placed them beside her.

She slowly and carefully unwrapped the white ribbons, and Inuyasha's eyes widened at what he saw.

Little but deep holes were marking her smooth skin, dried blood stains trailing from the openings down her sides. He heard her wince and mutter they got worse or something, only for his ears to dig deeper into his skull and his frown to get deeper.

It's all my fault.

He watched sorrowfully while Kagome stood and dove into the water, biting her lip to refrain herself from screaming. She let out a long gasp of pain and shut her eyes tight.

Blood and tears tainted her beautiful scent, the half-demon noticed, and he looked away, biting his lip in frustration. He couldn't bear it. But he had to.

Kagome sighed; Thank God they didn't reopen. That's good for a head start. She carefully scrubbed away the blood stains on her sides, making sure to rid of the metallic scent.

When she finished she got up to the surface, blood spoiling the crystal clear water. Kagome winced but didn't say anything as she rubbed the wounds clean again

Inuyasha couldn't bear to watch the sight any longer. He looked away groaning and leaped off the tree, disappearing somewhere into the forest. Kagome heard rustling and covered herself protectively and turned to the unknown intruder.

However, no one was there.

She sighed and returned to her previous work, "Guess it was my imagination…"

Two days went by peacefully. Kagome was healing slowly but it was getting better. But what kept bothering her was Inuyasha's behaviour. After her bath at the river he had mysteriously disappeared.

She often looked for him but soon her wounds would tire her out and she had to give up. He briefly appeared at Kaede's hut from time to time, but when she was about to speak to him, he disappeared again.

Sango, Miroku and Shippo returned successful from their mission. Only the night of their return did Inuyasha join them in dinner. He peacefully chatted with Miroku and avoided eye contact with Kagome.

Said girl was upset, but didn't try to show it as she chatted with Kaede and Sango.

"Sango-chan, where is Inuyasha?" she asked the slayer the next morning. She was apparently playing with Kirara when Kagome came.

"Oh Kagome-chan! How are your injuries?" she asked with a frown.

"Don't worry, they're alright." The priestess smiled, "So anyway, where is Inuyasha?"

Sango's frown deepened, "I saw him a while ago walking towards the hills. He looked quite sad about something. Miroku's talking to him right now."

"I see.." Kagome bowed her head and sighed. "Thank you, Sango-chan."

"Don't worry about it; whatever is bothering him will soon fade, I'm sure." Sango patted her friend's shoulder before she retreated. Kagome couldn't help but smile.

"So that's it, huh… No wonder you were so cold and depressed last night." Miroku breathed a sigh. Inuyasha nodded and stared off to space for a moment.

"Will she ever forgive me…?" he asked, more to himself than to the man beside him.

A pat on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up at his friend, "If she loves you she will forgive you." He said with a smile.

The half-demon's eyes widened, "But how do I know she-"

"Inuyasha!"

Both males turned to the feminine voice and watched an approaching Kagome. She was slowly but steadily making her way to them, her hand waving to the two, "Inuyasha!"

"Here she comes," Miroku stood on his feet, "You two talk things out. I'm sure you'll find a solution to this." He turned to walk away, not before giving the hanyou a broad smirk, "Remember what I told you." And with that, he walked away.

Inuyasha watched as he paid his greetings to Kagome and moved on to his respected destination.

His eyes burned into Kagome's brown orbs and before she could reach him he leaped onto a nearby tree. He heard her huff in annoyance as she approached and called to him, but he paid her no heed and got lost in his thoughts.

His lips were hot and he unconsciously touched them with his fingers.

That warm feeling wan haunting him at night since that incident. He had almost lost himself at Kaguya's taunting about his wish being granted.

He had almost become a full-fledged demon until she saved him. When her smooth voice called to him and calmed his demon blood, her words had forever struck his heart and soul, "I love you as a half-demon, Inuyasha…"

He peacefully closed his eyes and reveled for a short moment.

"Inuyasha…"

"Inuyasha…"

"Inuyasha!"

The hanyou snapped back to reality and fought to stay on the tree branch. He looked down at Kagome scowling, "What do you want?" he asked in his usual grumpy voice.

Kagome didn't fail to notice the hint of sorrow in his tone, "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" she touched the tree's trunk with both hands, frowning, "Why are you so upset?"

"Keh!" he turned his back at her, "None of your damn business!" His ears twitched in an angry manner; though one had turned to her to hear her reaction.

Kagome fumed inside; given different circumstances she would have sat him on the spot. But seeing him so frustrated and sad she decided to spare the poor hanyou a bit longer.

She huffed, "If he's so stubborn, then…" she grabbed the trunk tight and began slowly climbing the high tree, determined to reach him. Inuyasha turned one eye to her and turned back again, trying to hide his surprise, What on earth is she doing?

After many attempts and painful grunts, she had almost reached him. She was about to breathe until the branch she was holding on suddenly broke and she started falling backwards.

Kagome had lost her voice; she didn't as much as let out the slightest sound, wondrous as she looked.

Everything moved in slow motion as she heard her name being called and red flashed in front of her eyes before she was encircled by strong arms and landed on a strong chest.

Brown irises locked with worried golden ones, "What the hell are you doing wench?!" he glared daggers at her angrily, "You could have killed yourself!" He heard her wince in pain when he cradled her body closer to him, and his furry ears drooped on his head.

"If only you hadn't been that stubborn, this wouldn't have happened!" It was Kagome's turn to snap. She wasn't in the mood to cope with his endless taunting. Her hands pushed at him, but his grip on her only tightened protectively around her.

"Keh!" he leaped upwards and landed on the branch he was previously sitting on, carefully placing her down beside him. She gripped the sleeve of his haori and he remained close.

She looked up and he was surprised at her saddened expression, "What's wrong, Inuyasha? Why aren't you telling me?"

Her frown only deepened when his dark browns also knitted in frustration. "I..I..uhh.." he stumbled upon his words and decided to remain silent for a while, the look in his eyes distant.

He didn't know what to say to her.

Kagome didn't talk either, patiently waiting for his reply. Her hand was still clutching on his sleeve, preventing him from running away again. Not that he was planning to anyway.

"I.." he hesitantly began, claiming her attention, "I don't know if you should stay this close to me, Kagome." He refused to look at her but knew she was looking at him, her eyes asking him why.

"After what happened with Kaguya," he pointedly stared at her bandaged wounds through her clothing, "I can't guarantee you'll be safe with me anymore."

Kagome stilled, her eyes wide. "Wait. You are depressed about my injuries?" one slender eyebrow twitched.

Well she was expecting him to be a little bit sad, but never did she think he would actually be depressed. She thought that if he saw her recover and do fine, he would get over it.

Inuyasha didn't answer and his silence gave him away. Kagome slightly paled.

"Inuyasha.." she grabbed his chin, tilting his head to her direction. His expression was miserable and his cheeks were tinted a faint shade of pink.

Kagome's face softened, "You don't have to worry so much about me. I'm fine. And I can take care of myself."

"B-But you now know what my inner desire is! And I don't know what will happen next time I transform!" he almost shouted at her frowning, his voice frightened and breaking, "I might-"

She shushed him with a finger pressed on his lips, "It's okay. None of that will happen," she gently assured him and leaned on his shoulder, "As long as I'm here with you, nothing is going to happen. You managed to calm down your demon form more than once without anybody getting hurt. I'm sure you can do it again."

"But I hurt you…" he pouted, bowing his head in shame.

"My injuries are my own fault, not yours." She turned to look at him, "I knew it was dangerous but I took the risk anyway. I'd never let you succumb to your demon like this."

Inuyasha was lost for words. He simply looked away from her intense gaze and breathed in her sweet scent that enveloped him. A few moments later he faced her again and engulfed her in a strong embrace.

Kagome squeaked in surprise, "Inuyasha!"

"I'm sorry Kagome. I put you through such pain…" his head rested on top of hers and he tightened his hold on her, "I'm really sorry…"

The woman in his arms smiled and returned the gesture, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I forgive you.. I always will. So don't make that face, okay?" Her hands tentatively cupped his face and their eyes locked in an intense gaze.

"Smile for me, please?" she asked innocently.

Inuyasha unconsciously leaned into her hands tenderly and a faint smile graced his features. Kagome's cheeks tinted red and she smiled as well. "That's better."

Two sat peacefully watched their friends below.

"You pervert monk!" Sango screamed her lungs off and slapped the lecherous male beside her.

"Ah… Sango…" he mumbled as he reveled in his bruised cheek.

Shippo shook his head, "You sure are hopeless Miroku.."

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and then back at his friends, another smile placed on his face as he inhaled her scent yet again before happily closing his eyes, Thank you, Kagome…

A/N: Hey people! It's been some time since I last uploaded something new so here you go! My first InuYasha fanficition! :D F

or those who didn't get the time the story takes place, it's right after the second movie The Castle Beyond Looking Glass.

I'm preparing some new stuff to upload, but it'll take some time since I want to take out something neat. For now, though, enjoy this one-shot! ^^