Chapter 4

"She has been sleeping for three days. Are you sure she will be alright, Miroku?" Sango said, worriedly. Inuyasha had returned with Kagome in very bad shape. She had lost a lot of blood, and had not been conscious at all these past days. Sango was about to suggest that Inuyasha take her through the well to her own time where they would be able to treat her injuries better. Inuyasha had not said hardly anything since he brought Kagome back. He had explained what happened, but nothing else.

"She should wake up any time. You must be patient Sango, my love; for you can see her wounds are healing." Sango blushed. Ever since she had woken up after the battle with Naraku, Miroku had been different with her. He had only grabbed her ass the one time, and he appeared to be trying to court her. Sango was afraid he was just messing with her. She was sure that the next woman he saw would get his full attention, leaving Sango to seethe with frustration. She just did not trust the lecherous monk.

Inuyasha was a short distance away, perched in a tree. He was watching over Kagome. Each hour that she did not wake twisted in his chest like a dagger. He felt he was to blame for all of this. He should have been paying more attention to her during the battle with Naraku. If he had, this never would have happened. He had been thinking a lot ever since he left the northern wolf tribe's lair. He was beginning to realize just how much Kagome meant to him. When he thought of Kikyo, his heart did not hurt. He did not burn for her like he had for years. Ultimately, he felt sorry for Kikyo, but wished she would give up walking the earth as barely more than a spirit. She had a body, it was true; However, it was a body of clay, not of flesh. Kagome was the one in his heart now; it had just taken him a long time to see that.

He was saddened though. He did not deserve Kagome. He had done nothing but fight with her and mistreat her since she became a part of his world. He had left her for Kikyo on numerous occasions; even telling her of his love for the undead miko. He hung his head and sighed. Kikyo would laugh at his thoughts, or grow very very angry. Kagome, well, he did not know what she would think. She might laugh at him too; thinking back to all the hanyou had done to make her life miserable, she might just tell him to go to hell. How could Kagome even want a half breed like himself? She deserved much better. He should tell her to go back to her time and stay. This life was too hard on her. A selfish part of him did not want her to ever leave his side, and he tried his best to ignore it. He had been selfish all along, now he needed to do something for Kagome. He silently warred with himself over what to do when Kagome woke up. He was deep in thought when he heard Kagome's voice, "Miroku? Where is Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha jumped down from the tree he was sitting in and walked over to where Kagome lay. Her eyes lit up when he moved into her field of vision. She had missed him. She was afraid her love would show in her eyes, so she averted them quickly to stare at her hands. Inuyasha saw this as a rejection. She must hate him after all that she has been through. Inuyasha felt his anger build; so she wanted to reject him, did she? He would show her, "Get up".

Kagome looked at him wide-eyed, unsure of why he was angry. Then it hit her; she had to have been asleep for days. He had had to take time out of his precious hunt for Naraku and the shards to save her once again. Then, they had lost more time waiting for her to recover. This made her furious. He had no regard for anyone, "I am going home, Inuyasha! Sango, can I borrow Kirara for a bit?"

"Sure, Kagome. When are you returning?" Sango was unsure of what had happened here but she was mad at Inuyasha. To yell at Kagome after her being injured was inexcusable. He had some nerve.

"Maybe I won't return. I need some time to think and besides, I haven't seen my family in a while." Kagome got up, but was assailed by dizziness and started to fall. Inuyasha was there in the blink of an eye to catch her. His worry showed on his face for a second, before he covered it with a mask of arrogance and anger.

"Yeah, you can't even stand, but you are going home? Baka! If you want to go home that badly, I will personally send you down the damn well! I don't care if you come back or not!" Inuyasha was yelling by the end; he swooped Kagome off her feet and started running to the bone-eaters well at top speed. Kagome was hurt and angry but decided not to say anything. She would be home soon enough.

Inuyasha reached the bone-eaters well and jumped in without pausing. He came out the other side and ran to the house. He jumped up to her window; opened it, and deposited Kagome on her bed. He was back out the window and gone before Kagome could even draw breath.

Kagome was PISSED! How dare he? He was arrogant, mean-spirited, and rude. What an asshole! Kagome was seething as she tore off her clothes and walked to the shower. She turned on the hot water and got in. When the water hit her she started to feel more relaxed, for the moment at least. She then noticed her bandages were getting wet. She stepped out of the shower into the cold bathroom for a minute and undid the bandages. The wounds were healing, but the one on her stomach was still pretty fresh. She stepped back in the shower and screamed as the water hit her torso. She heard the bathroom door open and was about to call out, when Inuyasha tore back the shower curtain. He stood there a moment transfixed on her naked body in the shower.

"SIT! SIT! SIT!" Kagome screamed at him. He hit the floor hard. She grabbed a towel and stepped past him into her bedroom. She shut the bathroom door and toweled off quickly. She reached into her closet and put on a nightgown and panties. Inuyasha came through into her bedroom, finally having recovered from the magical abuse inflicted upon him.

"What the hell did you do that for, Kagome? All I did was try to make sure you were not in danger." Inuyasha was a weird mix of angry and confused. He was looking at Kagome standing there with her arms crossed, when he noticed the blood seeping through the nightgown, "Kagome, you are bleeding."

"Of course I am now that I stretched the damn wound open. It is all because of you. This is all your fault Inuyasha!" She then proceeded to start bawling. She sobbed as if her heart was breaking. Inuyasha was confused but it hurt him to see her cry. He went to her and picked her up. He sat down gently on the bed and held her while she cried. Her tears slowed and she hiccupped a few times. Finally, she looked up at Inuyasha, holding her in his arms. She was feeling kind of awkward, and a blush covered her cheeks and nose.

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked seriously. He was staring down at her with a look on his face that Kagome had never seen before. She was trying to puzzle out what the look meant when he stood up and put her down on the bed. He walked in to the bathroom with Kagome staring after him. He came back out with gauze and tape for her wound. She also saw a small tube of antibiotic ointment in his hand. He came to her and began hitching up her nightgown.

"Inuyasha! You are as bad as Miroku!" She yelped and moved back further on the bed. The movement caused her wound to bleed more. Inuyasha smelled the blood and put aside his anger for now.

"I am trying to tend to your wound, wench! Hold still!" He pulled her to him gently and again started to lift her gown. Kagome was blushing so hard her whole face was beet red. She turned her head to the side and prayed to Kami he was done quickly. Inuyasha had her stomach bared and saw her bleeding wound. He gasped because the sight of her broken flesh pained him as if he had been the one injured instead of Kagome. He tenderly applied the ointment to her flesh, trying to be as gentle as possible. He then covered the area with gauze and taped the gauze to her flesh. When he was through, he slowly lowered her nightgown and covered her with the blanket. Before Kagome could say word, he left her room. She was wondering what the hell he was doing when he suddenly returned.

"There is no one here." Inuyasha said simply. Kagome thought about it and saw that her clock said noon. Her brother would be in school, and who knew where her mother and grandfather were. Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and started to blush again, thinking of how much he had seen of her body. She felt very vulnerable laying on the bed with Inuyasha towering over her. She tried to sit up, but Inuyasha gently pushed her back down.

"You need to rest in order for your wound to heal." He looked at her for a moment, and Kagome tried to discern what she saw in his eyes. Inuyasha turned and jumped out the window, leaving Kagome alone once more. She stared after him trying to figure out what he was thinking.

Suddenly, Kagome felt an overwhelming urge to cry again. She knew Inuyasha did not love her, but his display of tenderness seemed genuine. She had this feeling that maybe this would be the last time she saw him. With that thought, the tears began to flow down her face.

Inuyasha was sitting in a tree across from Kagome's window, and his keen hearing caught the sound of the tears. He could not stand that sound. She sounded as if her heart was breaking, but how could that be? She had to hate him. He regretted is angry outburst in the past, but his pride would not let him admit that to his mate. MATE!!?? Kagome is not my mate. I don't even want… yeah, I do. I would love to have Kagome with me for the rest of my life, but I don't deserve her. She is kind and nurturing; I am not good enough. Wasn't I just thinking my pride would not let me apologize? What kind of bullshit is that? She deserves someone who will treat her right and not endanger her life on a regular basis; someone who won't take his temper out on her and yell at her when she does not deserve it. Her tears continue and he is torn. He knows he should just leave and go back to his time, but how could he leave the woman he loves to cry over him. How do you know she is crying over you? She probably doesn't even care enough about you to waste tears on you. She could be crying for any number of reasons. Inuyasha continued to struggle with himself over what to do, when he heard Kagome moving about in her bedroom. He fought the urge to go and look, but lost in the end.

Inuyasha was looking in her window, and she had her back to him. He could see she was holding a box. He saw her open the lid and pull out a picture of… HIM?!?! She stared at the picture and continued to cry. Suddenly, she turned around and saw Inuyasha in her window.

"Wh- what are you doing here?" she stuttered. Kagome could not imagine why he would still be in the present. Maybe he was watching over me… But why would he do that when he obviously thinks that I am weak and not an important member of our group… I mean he was so mad over the wasted time she had caused him… what if that's not why, though? What if he… cares about me? No way! He loves that bitch Kikyo!

"I heard you crying and came to see why." He stated, looking a little embarrassed himself. He caught her eyes and it seemed like he was trying to tell her something, but she could not imagine what.

"Why should you care? You don't care if I come back to the feudal era or not, remember?" Kagome could feel her earlier anger rising once more.

"I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, K-Kagome. I was angry and had no reason to take it out on you. I'm sure when I make it back, I will get more than an earful from Miroku and Sango." He hung his head with his ears low, looking abashed.

"So this is about them being mad at you, huh? Well I don't care if they are, it is more than right that you should have them after you, you deserve worse!" Kagome had heard him apologize, and it had almost taken her aback, except that little line about Miroku and Sango. He was more worried that they would take her side than he was about hurting her feelings, the bastard!

"That's not it, Kagome. I am sorry for hurting you. I want you t-to… um… I want you to come back." He hung his head again expecting her to laugh at his pathetic attempt to apologize.

Kagome was at a loss. Maybe he was being sincere. She felt kind of bad for yelling at him now. But why does he want her back; she just slows them down, "Inuyasha, I thought you were mad at me for having to take time out of your quest to rescue me? I want to come back, but I am tired of fighting with you all the time."

"Kagome, I was never mad at you for that. I was so worried when Koga took you during the battle with Naraku. I am tired of fighting too." Inuyasha wasn't sure he could say the other words that were on the tip of his tongue. He was afraid she would reject him, and he wasn't sure he could survive that kind of pain again.

"Inuyasha, I-I didn't mean to worry you." She had been about to say something else, but she wasn't sure she could survive it if he chose Kikyo over her, and laughed at her declaration of love. They looked at each other with their hearts in their eyes. Both of them saw it, but were plagued with doubts. The silence stretched out and they both felt it becoming awkward. They both looked away at the same time, sure that the other didn't love them. Both wrestled with the consequences of telling the other how they felt.

Kagome couldn't take it anymore, "Inuyasha, I love you."

Inuyasha turned and looked at Kagome; sure that he had heard her wrong. Her eyes were saying the same thing her lips had said and he felt joy beginning to well up in him.

Oh no! I said it and now he is just staring at me! How could I have been so stupid? Kagome bereted herself silently, dreading what would come next.

"I love you too, Kagome." WHAT!! Did he just say what I think he just said? They both stared at each other. Both were relieved to have finally said it. Both were still trying to process the fact that they were loved. All at once they embraced. Kagome winced.

"Did I hurt you, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, sniffing to see if the wound had reopened. When he did not smell fresh blood, he relaxed a little bit.

"Just a little, but I think it was more from my movement than the hug." Kagome smiled at him. Inuyasha smiled back. He hugged her again, taking care to avoid contact with her wound. He cupped his hand under her chin, and lifted her face to his. The kiss was gentle and sweet. Kagome had not known Inuyasha could be like this. Inuyasha had not really known that he could be like this. Kagome made him want to be better, even if she infuriated the hell out of him sometimes.

Inuyasha picked Kagome up and carried her to the bed. He gently put her down and got in the bed, too. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both basked in the others love. In just a few moments, they fell asleep feeling warm and contented.