"She's returning." The voice whispered.

And then the screaming started.

Kagome jerked her head, twisting and arching forward. The screams grew in power, rebounding off the walls and making the ground shake. Kagome found herself looking at the dirty ground below her. The dust shifted and shook.

Kagome tried to breath but there was no air to be had. She gasped and the ground trembled harder. Clenching her eyes shut, she blocked out the world.

"We're coming for you, coming for you!" The voices started to scream in unison. Kagome threw her hands to press flat to her ears. The screaming only got louder. She staggered backwards, tripping as the ground moved under her feet. She landed on her back and opened her eyes.

And found herself staring up at the twisting purple sky.

Kagome jerked up, her muscles shook with a jolt of unexpected agony reaching through her. She found herself staring at a wall of a cave covered in darkness. She sucked in a breath, excited when the glorious air filled her lungs. She let her muscles relax, the adrenaline burst leaving nothing but an uncomfortable twinge, and put a hand to her chest. Her heart pounded to an unusual beat.

Pulling the blanket off her, Kagome slowly found her way to her feet. Her memory came back to her and she blushed thinking that she really did fall asleep in Kouga's arms.

"Well not that I can do much about it now." She spoke to herself quietly. Surveying her surroundings, she walked for the door knowing it would well be futile to try and sleep again.

She passed her sleeping group, pausing when Kirara flickered her eyes opened for a moment to see who passed.

Kagome kept walking, carefully stepping around everyone without a sound. She spotted the moonlight reaching into the cave and followed it out. She smelt the water before she heard it, and the rushing of the waterfall helped put her heart at ease.

Kagome took a deep breath, and shifted to one foot when she felt the jewel shards pulse. Kouga was outside.

Springing forward carefully, she hopped to the ledge where she caught sight of him.

If Kouga realized she was there, he didn't let it on at first. Lit up by the moonlight, the wolf-prince stared out toward the distance Gentle breezes played with his hair, and a heavy set determination filled his blue eyes.

"Kouga." She spoke up quietly as she walked forward. The wolf immediately turned to look at her.

"Kagome, you're up." Springing from where he was, he closed the distance between them but stopped short just a foot away. He still puffed his chest up and changed his stance to exude confidence.

Kagome smiled at him, her eyes trailing over his gently flushed cheeks, his nearly pouted lips.

"Yea, guess I couldn't sleep." She reached up to brush a hair out of her face when the breeze continued. "Why are you out here so late?"

Kouga's eyes wouldn't leave her. His heart twanging as she moved but he forced himself to ignore it.

"I'm keeping guard while everyone else is asleep." He said quietly. His eyes flickered back to the cave for a second before returning to her.

Fatigue barely scratched at him, but more troublesome were his thoughts that wouldn't stop spinning. If he'd thought they were bad before, now that Kagome stayed so very close to him, it just got worse.

"Mind if I keep you company for awhile?" She didn't wait for an answer and moved past him to sit on the ledge. Kagome patted the spot next to her before turning to look out at the land. Kouga sat down next to her, his words catching in his throat. Kicking himself mentally, Kouga forced himself to look out absently at the trees in the distance. His heart only picked up speed and he refused to show it on his face.

"Kouga-kun." She spoke up after a minute, her voice low again. Kouga almost had to strain his ears to hear it.

"What is it?"

Turning toward him suddenly, Kagome leaned forward to catch his eyes. The wolf prince almost sprung back in surprise but held his ground. Before he could open his mouth, Kagome beat him to it.

"I have an honest question for you Kouga. I don't want you to lie to me even if you think it would hurt my feelings."

Kouga's mouth fell open but he shut it when she hesitated.

"I know when we met; you liked me because I could see the jewel shards." Kagome let her eyes trail away once she was sure she had his attention. She could almost feel him stiffen next to her. "But have things changed? If I could stop seeing the jewel shards tomorrow, would you feel the same way?"

Kouga's heart skipped a beat and he straightened out like a flat board. His mind replayed her words at least half a dozen times, each time slower than the one before.

His mind answered for him before he opened his mouth. How could she even think that? He would admit that it may seem that way. His mind flipped over backwards trying to remember what might have lead Kagome to think that'd never changed. Or why did it ever change?

Kouga almost growled in frustration when his thoughts darkened. Yes, Kagome's main benefit to him was her jewel shards. But he couldn't lie that his feelings had mutated far beyond that. He wouldn't try to.

Kouga shook his head for a second, snapping back to reality. Reaching out he used to fingers to turn her chin to look at him. Taking a deep breath he readied himself when her chocolate eyes met his.

"Kagome, believe me when I say this." He whispered without reason, but stayed focused. "I promised I would die for you. My feelings for you won't change because of the jewel." He spoke slowly, his heart churning with every word that escaped his lips.

Drastically searching her eyes, Kouga looked for a change, something. A new feeling of dread washed over him when she didn't move at first.

Kagome barely thought about it. If the idea even had the time to finish processing when she did it. Closing the distance between them, Kagome caught his lips and kissed him. The sensation rushing all the way down to her core.

Kouga would always love her. Kouga would never let her go for someone who was already dead.

The wolf prince would have sworn on his life time stopped. The warmth of her lips shooting a rippling tingle through his limbs. His mind screamed at him to pull her closer but his hands stayed still as not to break the spell. She kissed him for a full minute, pulling away with her cheeks tinged pink.

Kouga wasn't sure if he heart was even still beating. His eyes never left the girl, his thoughts racing away from him.

She smiled, brightly and suddenly.

Any memories of the dream and Inuyasha left her mind when she had touched him. And she watched Kouga's eyes light up with something she'd never seen before. A new contentment, happiness, she'd never spotted on the wolf demon before. Her heart almost cheered that she brought that to him, and that thought alone banished any doubts about the kiss.

"Thank you for standing by me Kouga." She said, "but I'm going to try to return to sleep before the sun rises."

Kagome stood and Kouga awkwardly jerked to a stance with her. His thoughts rammed together and tumbled over each other as they rushed to come together. Before he could stutter an answer, she reached out to brush her fingertips along her forearm. The flush on her face got worse and she smiled at him again. "I'll see you tomorrow alright?" Turning, she ran back toward the cave with her heart jogging her chest. The smile never left her when she went to sleep last night.

And she didn't have any more dreams.

~*~

A/N: Hey I posted on a Wednesday! I hate Wednesdays….anyways I tried to keep Kouga's character close to home and tried not to make it too sappy and all that. Drop me a review and tell me if I succeeded.