I don't own Inuyasha or its characters, though I wish I did. That honor, however, belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

Silhouette ch2...Torment

The water soothed her body, but not her pain. Stiff muscles screamed in silence at the movement she demanded of them. Inch by inch she moved into the water, her blood flowing with steady precision down her arm and hand.

Another battle with Naraku, and yet another failure of her own. She wasn't as skilled with a bow, or a weapon of any sort like Kikyo had been. She couldn't defend herself, let alone any of the others - the gash on her upper arm vivid proof of that fact. Sure, she'd gotten better through the years, and so long as her target stayed a fair distance away she could hit her mark with deadly precision. It was the up close and personal attacks she sucked with.

She stood motionless in the warmth of the spring, its depth barely meeting her knees. She made no move to venture in further, nor to wipe the tears from her face. She cried silently, not for her pain, nor for her fear, but for her failure to defend herself thus making it harder on the others.

She'd allowed the enemy to get to close, his claws slicing deep into her arm. It was that failure that had brought Inuyasha from the battle to pull her to safety. He'd been wounded doing so, and they'd become separated from the others – two more reasons the tears wouldn't stop their decent.

Moving slowly she reached to remove the tattered remains of her shirt needing something to wash the wound. She allowed the torn cloth to fall from her body, but dropped it when it slipped through her fingers. She watched with a heavy heart the way the water, though soothing to her flesh, became unforgiving in the way it enveloped the material. It pulled it softly from the surface and into the depths near her feet - another uniform her Mother would have to replace.

Raising her eyes she watched the long strands of grass on the opposite shore bend under the wind's gentle caress. She heard the rustle of leaves as it continued on through the forest, but she didn't hear Inuyasha make his way into the spring behind her. Something inside her knew he was there though, that he'd come to check on her. She was embarrassed standing in nothing but her bra and skirt, but even that did little to draw her from the solitude she sought within herself.

He'd seen her, many times, in little to nothing at all. She had been mortified every time, accidental as they were, and should be now; she simply couldn't find it in herself to care.

She felt his claws first- the way they trailed the flesh of her back, gentle hands following suit until they rested softly on her shoulders. She could feel his breath stir the hair near her ear, and in her weakness she couldn't stop her head from falling back, his shoulder her newfound pillow.

She was tired, so damn tired: tired of fighting, tired of traveling, but mostly tired of hiding the way he made her feel. Her heart fell even more in the knowledge that she simply had no choice. She knew why she returned to this era.

She came back for him, her hanyou- her heart.

" You okay Kagome?"

She smiled softly at the concern laced so heavily in his voice. No words could ever explain what it was he made her feel. So instead she turned and pressed herself against the warmth of his bare chest, his heartbeat strong and steady beneath her ear. She reveled in the feel of his arms as they wrapped around her, and smiled when he pulled her closer still.

" We need to clean your wounds Kagome. " He'd spoken so softly that had she not been wrapped in his embrace she might not have even heard him.

" I'm sorry Inuyasha." she whispered.

" For what?"

" For getting you hurt. I'm always in the way..."

" I told you that I'd give my life to protect you, and I meant it." he growled softly, his hands rubbing soothing circles against the skin of her back.

" But I don't want you to." she whispered pulling back at the way his body tensed.

" You don't want me to protect you?"

She could hear the hurt in his voice. He'd misunderstood her...again.

" I want you to protect me, but I don't want you to give your life to do it. I don't want to lose you Inuyasha."

" Keh, I ain't goin' nowhere wench."

He smiled and deep inside something broke inside her. Would he ever be hers? Would they ever have the chance to love each other publicly the way they did privately?

For months it had been this way. They couldn't share their feelings out loud, instead having to do so through hidden glances, ' accidental ' touches, and forced arguments. They yelled heatedly at each another in front of the others, and whispered lovingly to each other the moment they found themselves alone.

Vaguely she could feel him gently cleaning her wounds, but she was to lost in her thoughts to pay it much attention.

It had been nearly a month since that night at the inn. Was that all they'd have of each other though- the silhouette of a memory, their kisses and touches hidden behind some shoji screen at some faraway inn?

All she wanted was to hold him in the night without the fear of being discovered. She wanted to kiss him in the light of day simply because she missed the way he tasted, or the way his touch could melt her heart.

She felt him kiss her shoulder lovingly, a sign that he was finished cleaning her wounds. A moment later she felt his lips closing over her collar bone then her neck, and she closed her eyes at the intensity of heat steadily growing throughout her body. She reached instinctively for the support her weakening knees were failing to provide her, her fingers closing around his shoulders, his skin warm and soft beneath her fingertips.

She needed no words to tell her of his feelings for her. It was there in the way he touched her, the way he held her.

She waited on baited breath, her body jolting in need at the feel of his tongue caressing her bottom lip, her gasp of pleasure the only invitation he needed. She found his lips pressed against her own, demanding, pleading. She returned his kiss, her hands sliding into his hair, her fingers grasping the fine silken strands to pull him closer.

She felt his claws slide from her back to her shoulders. Then she felt the gentle tug on the elastic straps and back of her bra moments before feeling the material fall away from her skin.

She hissed in pleasure at the feel of the cool night air caressing her naked flesh, and moaned in desperate desire when Inuyasha's bare chest met her own.

She nearly cried when his lips left hers, and nearly died in ecstasy when they closed over the upper swell of her breast, the heat of his tongue dragging slowly across her skin. She stood weak before him, her need leaving her trembling, her head falling back, hands still buried in his mass of silver hair.

Moonlight washed over them both providing a sparkling sea of light that rode the gentle waves created when Inuyasha fell to his knees before her.

He made her forget her pain replacing it with torrents of pleasure that she had no idea existed. She heard nothing but her heartbeat as it raced in her chest, felt nothing but the wild abandon his hands were creating. The world stopped in that moment, and all that existed was the hanyou kneeling in the spring before her, his head nestled in the valley of her breasts, his claws pulling her skirt from her body.

Somewhere in her mind she heard him growl in annoyance, felt his hands stop the wonderful torment they'd been creating. In the distance she could hear Sango's voice calling their names...

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I am really sorry for the long wait in deciding to add to this one shot. . Things have been so hectic. I hope you all like this chapter, and I hope that I haven't ruined a good story with a less perfect chapter..but this has been hidden in my laptop for over a year, and I thought perhaps you all might enjoy it. At least then it would see happy readers ( hopefully ) instead of the dark recesses of my computer.

I plan to add to this- a little at a time as I have had ideas about where this story could lead since finishing the first chapter. But then Birth Rite happened, and I don't do well with keeping up on more than one story at a time.

It could be a fun ride, though I have worried myself silly over whether to post this or not; whether it was a good continuation of the first chapter, and whether or not I should attempt to continue this fic at all for fear of ruining the story all together. I know- I worry to much- but your opinions matter a great deal to me, and I can't seem to help myself. And then I read through the reviews, again, and so many wanted this continued. And that was what made the decision easier. I just hope you all are still ready for more on this since it has been such a long time. I can only hope it might do as well as the first chapter.

Well, here's to hoping...lol.

Thank you all for staying with me! To those who reviewed Something More...THANK YOU!!! I have the next chapter finished, it just needs typed into the computer and edited. My project for the weekend...lol, or tomorrow if time permits. I haven't had time to reply to your reviews yet- and I will I promise, but I read each one, and it was nearly impossible to wipe the smile from my face.

Until next time..Neisha