We're a team now!

Those words kept echoing through his mind like on a loop and he could not forget them, no matter how hard he tried he could not erase them. He could not stifle her voice nor could he forget the look in her eyes when she'd said them only days before. Those fierce blue eyes of hers always seemed to catch him off guard, eyes he could not forget even if he wanted to. Every single time he wanted to push her back down the well to her own time, those words would filter through his thoughts and remind him, much to his disdain, she was probably right... They were a team.

A sigh escaped the silver-haired hanyou, who turned to look at the sleeping form of the girl across from him. They had stumbled across an old village that looked like it'd been last inhabited before his seal on the tree, but one single hut had stood out among all the others. Though shabby looking, it had a roof and four walls, all of which they had so desperately needed to shield them from the raging thunderstorm outside. Upon arriving, Kagome had built a small fire and in silence they'd dried themselves beside it, until Inuyasha noticed how pale she'd become and it had been then that he'd told her to go to sleep.

That had been hours ago.

Being a hanyou, he needed a lot less sleep than his human companion, but even he was feeling weary. They'd been traveling nonstop these last few weeks, their search for the Shikon no Tama shards taking them far and wide across the countryside. And more than that, it seemed like every where they went someone was in need of help, a youkai to be vanquished here, an orphan to be rescued there, and so much more. People he would have avoided to even speak to months ago he was now rescuing from harm and it was all because of that girl asleep across from him. Inuyasha scowled, folding his arms a bit tighter over his chest, red haori warm against his still chilled skin. He could not help but to wonder what it was about this girl that compelled him to help others, but more so... What about her compelled him to act so reckless when it came to her own safety? He was already out of enough fingers to count upon them the times he'd put his own life on the line to protect her and yet... It left him feeling warm inside. He enjoyed protecting her, as strange as it felt to realize that. In truth, no matter how angry she made him sometimes, Inuyasha truly enjoyed her companionship. Her sweet smell, her easy smile, and the way her voice spoke the syllables of his name... Though she was irritating and impulsive, she was also warm and radiant, a force of nature so like the one that raged outside.

A sneeze woke him from his own thoughts and golden eyes flickered towards her, watching as she sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and sneezing again. "Is it... Morning?" Her groggy voice did not hold its usual pep, but rather sounded weak and tired, a tone to it he'd never heard before. When he opened his mouth to speak, she sneezed for a third time and at once Inuyasha rose up from where he sat to come to her side, shrugging off his haori as he went. Draping it over her head and shoulders, Inuyasha then returned to his original spot, folding his arms back over his chest when he had sat back down. "Inuyasha...?"

"It's warmer than those stupid clothes you wear." He stated sharply, though his golden eyes had a softness to them that Kagome had never seen before. "I can't have you getting sick and slowing us down, you know." He turned his head away from facing her, but he could feel her staring, and so finally he looked back to her, only to see her lips curving with a smile. "What?" He sneered, leaning forward slightly, silver hair swinging with his every movement. He hated that stupid little smile of hers... No, you don't... Inuyasha sat back, surprising even himself with how quickly his heart fired back. No, he didn't hate her smile, no matter how much he wanted to. No matter how many walls he tried to put up, he knew that she would always knock them down. "We're a team... So I'm gonna take care of you." He muttered then, turning his head to the side, eyes closing as if he could not stand to look at her. But when he finally dared to crack open a lid, it was to see her blue eyes shining like they'd never shined before, bringing a heat to his cheeks he hoped she couldn't see.

"Thanks, Inuyasha." Came her soft response as she tugged his haori closer around her, returning to her position beside the fire. Inuyasha scoffed, but watched as she settled back into her sleeping bag, lids sweeping closed over her blue eyes. He sat there a while longer, listening to the pop of the fire and the soft, even sigh of her every breath. As he felt himself drifting off to sleep, Inuyasha could not help but to feel a little bit thankful for this girl. Even though she was frustrating, even though she was beyond reckless and even a little bit stupid... He was thankful to have her at his side. This girl that had overcome time to join his side, a girl who looked at him for him, rather than at either half of him. A girl who did not sneer at him, that had smiled upon him and had even shed tears for him. A girl that had shouted herself hoarse at him when she got angry, but had embraced him when she'd thought him done for. He supposed if he was going to be forced into working with a stubborn human girl, he was glad it was her.

He'd always be glad it was her.