Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

I do not own the song Hearts Burst into Fire.

You're not alone

I know I'm far from home

Do you remember me at all?

The silver haired male flew through the trees, fear burning in his veins. The closest person to have ever been his friends was on the verge of dying, and, if she did, he would have no one to relate with. All those years he lived in wonder if she was still even alive, and now he knew: he wasn't going to let her die right when he finally sees her again. For years and years before he was pinned to the tree, he searched and sought out for her, but every time he found a hint, it would never lead him to the right place. Now he had her, and he wasn't willing to let go. Not yet, he wasn't, not ever.

"Lady Kaede, a demon in the village!" Someone cried causing even more screams and cries to fill the air, hurting Inuyasha's strained ears.

Inuyasha rounded a corner at full speed, nearly running face first into a short old lady who had a bow in her hand. "Inuyasha, it's ye." She said, surprise displayed in her eyes clearly. "I thought ye were pinned to the Sacred Tree," Inuyasha didn't answer, instead grabbed the old priestess' arm and began pulling her into the forest, ignoring the objecting cries of the villagers thinking he was out to kill their priestess. He growled whenever someone got close.

"I'm not going to hurt the old hag," He snarled loud enough for everyone to hear, before once again dragging Kaede along behind him. "Hurry up," He growled, but, seeing as she wasn't hurrying at all, he hauled the old priestess on his back and took off.

It only took a matter of minutes for him to 'fly' through the forest and reach Kagome again. He let Lady Kaede down and she scurried over to the unconscious girl and quickly got to work, occasionally sending Inuyasha away for some herbs or other supplies she might need. After at least an hour and a half, Kaede was finishing wrapping bandages around the last of the deeper wounds. "There ye go, child," She murmured before looking towards Inuyasha, standing up, and brushing off her clothes. "She should be alright, as long as she doesn't reopen her wounds. Ye should keep an eye on the girl," Lady Kaede sighed as she looked around at the long dead warriors. "And maybe get her someplace warmer…cleaner." With a last glance at the beaten and broken girl, she walked away, clutching her own bow in her hand.

Inuyasha nodded, adding on a "Feh," before walking over to the still unconscious Kagome. Instead of moving Kagome to some cave or someplace that was probably safer, he leapt into the Sacred Tree; the tree he had been pinned to only hours ago. Much to the silver-haired hanyou's discomfort, he noticed that it was once again getting dark out. Dark and cold, he noted, and hopped from the tree, effortlessly picking up Kagome, who was now half-awake and clutching onto him, and he took off into the darkening forest. He came to a cave and looked down, only to come face-to-face with a fully awake Inuyoukai. Her endless orbs gazed at him curiously and it was obvious, even to him, that she was itching to ask tons of needless questions.

"Feh," He sighed. "Go ahead and ask your questions," He mumbled out as he set the girl on the fur that had been placed on the floor, probably by the last occupant. Judging by the scent, the demon hadn't been here in over 7 months. He was certain they were safe, there was little to no chance of the demon coming home and seeing the two Inu's in his home.

Inuyasha, being his usual self, instead of staying with the girl and watching over her, walked back out of the cave, saying nothing to the silent girl. He sent a fleeting glance towards the cave entrance before sprinting off into the forest once again in the search for food.

Kagome listened silently as the Inu-hanyou left the cave, but dared not to say a word. After he left, she turned her head tiredly to look at the entrance of the cave just in time to see his fleeting glance towards the cave—towards her—before he disappeared into the forest. With a pained sigh, the black-haired girl sat up and examined her wounds. They were starting to heal, thanks to that one old woman's care. She had been half-awake-half-asleep when she had been worked on. Thanks to the old woman's help, her wounds wouldn't get infected and they would heal faster because her body didn't have to fight off any infections like it usually had to. But, even though they were healing faster than usual, it didn't mean she would be any less stiff the next few days.

Stumbling to her feet she walked—no, more like tripped—her way over to the cave entrance. She scented the air and her ears flicked and strained but there was no sign of danger. The scent of blood in the air—her blood—was overwhelming to her sensitive nose. Ears back, she stumbled out of the cave, eyes flickering around her. It seemed safe enough.

She slid down the rocky cave wall, eyes drooping. The smell of blood was still strong, but it wasn't enough to chase her away from her current home when there was a possibility that Inuyasha, the boy she saved all those years ago, might come back… and since she was hurt, it wasn't smart to move around, leaving the scent of blood everywhere. Being ¾ demon, she was just as targeted as hanyou were. She would be tracked and killed; there was no question about that. The scent of her blood was already strong enough, and it would probably attract some demons soon. If she moved around instead of resting and concentrating on her wounds, again, there was no chance for her.

Deciding on the smarter of the choices, she let her eyes completely close, and felt herself quickly drift into a pain-induced sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ears flicking, the ¾ demon girl opened her eyes, blinking and looking around through blurry eyes. "Inu...yasha?" She called out, certain that it was her hanyou coming back. Her hanyou? No, that came out wrong—she had only talked to him twice in her life. The hanyou was more like it. Upon hearing no reply, she limped to her feet, ears back, eyes searching, but her blood covered up almost all scents that could have helped her figure out what had awaken her. She was extraordinarily stiff, and that didn't help at all, but most of the wounds were healed, and the ones that weren't would be healed by tomorrow morning. How long had she slept? And how come Inuyasha wasn't back? Did he decide he had helped her enough by finishing off those human warriors and decide to just take off? She wouldn't doubt it, that's what had happened last time. He left with no warning.

Suddenly a flash of black and brown was shooting towards her. As the blur got closer, at an amazing speed, she caught the scent of a wolf demon. Her breath caught in her throat at the memory flashing before her eyes. The memory of the night her father was killed. Anger welled inside her and her eyes adjusted due to the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Normally, she wouldn't remember that memory, since she had only been a few days old. Even youkai don't have that skill. She only remembered it because of some priestess that had detested her when she was younger had witnessed the act of murder, didn't even think of helping the youkai, and then later showed her, against her will of course. On accident, driven by rage, she had killed the poor priestess, ripped her to shreds in her blinding anger. She could hear, smell, and feel everything her father had heard, smelled and felt from the time her family was attacked till the time he was killed.

Once again being driven by rage, she snarled as her brown orbs met blue. She had no clue where she had put her bow, and she never learned to use her…youkai powers, powers like that Blades of Blood that Inuyasha had used. The wolf youkai was rather handsome, but she couldn't forget that her father was ruthlessly murdered for no reason by wolf youkai, even if he had tried to befriend her. He had tanned skin, black hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. She didn't know how long they stood there, staring at each other, Kagome seething with rage, the wolf boy staring at her silently… adoringly? She shuddered at the thought; the wolf man better not like her.

Only seconds later, two more wolf youkai appeared from the bushes, huffing and panting for air, along with a few wolfs. The memory kept flashing before her eyes, and her eyes glinted in emotional pain. The picture changed, and in her father's place was her and in the place of the pack of wolves was the blue-eyed wolf man and his two friends, along with the wolves. The setting, however, didn't change. It felt like someone had just stabbed a knife through her stomach and out her back as she realized that, in the very spot she was standing, was the place where her father was killed. Was the past about to be re-lived? She could always run—she had nothing to protect, except her life—but could she really bring herself to dishonor her family by running away from the pack of wolves? This is what she had always wanted, ever since that day she had been shown the memory, wasn't it?

Kagome decided to stay—it's not like she could out run the leader of the three, anyways, not while she was wounded. No words were exchanged, but their eyes said it all. They both charged at each other; slashing with claws, punching, and even kicking. Her movements were quick, but not quick enough. She pieced together that the wolf leader had one of those jewel shards that she had heard about, since no one could ever be as quick as he was. While his friends stayed still, just watching, still puffing for breath, the actual wolves were dancing around her, snapping at her bare feet, ankles and legs, making it even more difficult. It was all she could do to block his attacks… most of them at least.

"What are you doing here?" The wolf youkai growled, but he didn't let up his attacking. Her wounds were opening up again, and blood began to seep through her torn and ragged kimono.

"Am I not allowed h-here?" She panted, dodging a swift punch that probably would have thrown her backwards and knocked her out.

"No, you're not," The wolf didn't seem the least bit tired or in pain-it irked her. However, she couldn't attack while playing defensive. "This is a sacred spot for my pack, it was where my father killed an Inuyoukai that had been stealing from our pack and nearly made us all starve to death," He smirked at the stricken look on her face, just after the word 'Inuyoukai' escaped his mouth. She froze, nearly losing her footing and falling to the ground. She wanted to fall to the ground; she wanted to break down crying.

"Father…" The black haired Inuyoukai whimpered brokenly. A new light entered her eyes and she raised her head so she could stare straight into the wolf prince's blue eyes. "I will avenge you," She said strongly.

"You expect to defeat me like tha—?" His sentence was cut short by his two friends.

"Koga, look out; behind you!" They cried desperately, just as Kagome caught sight of a certain hanyou. Koga, the wolf demon, moved to dodge whatever was coming at him, but was too slow and surprised and was hit with was called 'Iron Reaver Soul Stealer'. Kagome was happy but upset, both at the same time. She had intended to get revenge on the wolf pack, but Inuyasha was going to chase him away. But she was happy that Inuyasha had come back.

It didn't take too long before Koga and his friends fled, and Kagome dropped to the ground, right over the spot where her father had been slain. "Not today," She mumbled to the empty spot. "I'm sorry. Not today; you won't get avenged today, father." To Inuyasha, it seemed as if she was in a trance, and in a way, she was.

She didn't move, didn't blink as he crouched down and peered curiously at her face. "Keh, are you alright? You shouldn't have tried fighting him yourself." He told her, his voice cold and accusing while his voice was soft and understanding.

"Huh? What? Oh right, sorry. Fine," Kagome whispered, standing up from her spot on the ground, her eyes glazed over. The Inuyoukai looked dazed and helpless to Inuyasha, and she proved him right as she stumbled and fell towards the ground unblinkingly. Inuyasha caught her quickly and helped her walk back to the cave.

Kagome collapsed to the ground, feeling returning to her body and her eyes filled with anger. "Why did you come and save me?" She shouted, stumbling to her feet. "Why? I could have beaten him myself, and gotten revenge for my father!" The raven haired girl seethed in fury. The golden-eyed hanyou got defensive, but took a step back nonetheless. No reason to upset her anymore than she already was, he figured.

"Feh," He coughed. "I'm sorry for trying to keep you safe and from getting killed. I should have just left you there to be killed!" He spat, although he didn't mean it at all.

The Inuyoukai's eyes softened and she looked down towards her knees. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. You meant no harm; you were just trying to help." She whispered before crawling over to the fur-bed and curling up on her side. "Thank you for saving me, Inuyasha," She mumbled quietly. "I was just... so angry. I finally found the son of the leader of the pack who killed… who killed my father… I was so set on revenge… I thought I could take him by myself, even while I was still injured." Inuyasha carefully crouched down on the fur-bed beside the emotionally-distressed girl.

"Inuyasha… thank you… so much," Kagome surprisingly reached up and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Inuyasha, at first, tensed and didn't move, until a few moments later, he realized that she was just hugging him, not going to hurt him, and he gently rested his arms around her waist protectively.

"Keh… no problem," He murmured, feeling himself completely relax. "I couldn't just leave you to die, could I? You're the first friend I ever had, aside from my mother…" He trailed off, clutching the girl closer to him.

"Am I?" She wondered out loud before she felt her eyes droop closed and she drifted into a relaxed sleep.

Kagome woke with a start, wrapped tightly in someone's arms. Her first instinct was to struggle—try to get away—and she did. If she had been around others more often, her reaction may have been different—to stop and think, try to remember. But it didn't matter; a soft, possessive growl stopped her in her tracks and she was cuddled closer. The growl seemed to trigger her memories and yesterday's events came rushing back to her and she almost immediately relaxed in Inuyasha's grip, feeling him nuzzle his face in her neck. The hanyou growled in affection as she submitted to him but let go of her anyways and sat up.

"Inuyasha," Kagome yawned tiredly, stretching, as she too sat up, ears flicking instinctively. The silver-haired hanyou didn't look at her, as he was staring out of the cave, but she knew he was listening, since his ears flicked in her direction. "How long are we going to be staying here?" She asked. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay longer or hurry up and leave.

"As long as it takes for you to heal," Inuyasha told her, sending her a surprised glance. "Did you think I would force you to move when you were hurt?" To Kagome, he sounded a bit hurt. How was she supposed to know? This was only the second time she had even seen him; once when they were both merely children and… now. She knew almost nothing about him, other than he was a hanyou, an outcast, and he was an inu-hanyou.

"No…" Kagome answered hesitantly. "I thought you might want to hurry and keep moving. You don't have to wait for me…" She trailed off, then added, as an afterthought, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"It's nothing Kagome." He answered pleasantly. Was it just her or did he get a lot nicer? It didn't matter to the raven-haired outcast; however, she was actually quite glad that he wasn't his usual self, if she was even sure what he usually acted like. Judging from the night he first met him, he had gotten nicer.

The two stayed there for a week and a half, Inuyasha never letting Kagome out of his sight unless she was safe in the cave, when he went out hunting for food [still, however, the hanyou never ran off too far], or Kagome went to the hot springs. Even then, he would sit in a tree, just out of view of Kagome, watching for threats, then, when he heard her coming back, he would run back to the cave. Somehow unknown to him, she never found out. Or she just didn't care. Either way, he was glad. He'd rather not get her mad at him for trying to keep her safe.

"You ready to go, Inu?" An ebony-haired inu-youkai asked chirpily, shuffling out of the cave. That was another thing, in the last week and a half, Kagome had stopped calling the hanyou 'Inuyasha' and now settled for 'Inu'.

Inuyasha had been surprised the first time she called him that. No one had called him that since… well, never. He had never had a nickname unless you considered 'disgusting hanyou' or 'filth' a nickname.

"Keh," He responded, not to Kagome's surprise. She had come to understand that the hanyou was not one to speak often. They began their journey, silent, both of them lost in thought. This proved to be a problem, though, as they both walked into a very youkai-hating human village. There were yells from the men, and screams and cries from the women and children.

"Youkai," The yelled, grabbing torches, arrows and other potential weapons and charging towards the two youkai as the women ushered the children into safety. Inuyasha instantly snarled, his instincts telling him to protect his "pack".

It only took Kagome a moment for her to realize: this wasn't your normal human village. They had way more weapons, for one, and they were actually almost worthy opponents, she would later find out.

The men—and one girl, Kagome was surprised to see—kept launching attack after attack at the two, who barely managed to dodge them. "Come on, Inu. Hurry," The inu-youkai growled out, narrowly ducking her head to escape an injury from a boomerang.

"Protect… pack," He roared, and Kagome realized that his eyes had bled red.