A whole month passed by and still, Amara was on bed rest. Kikyo had to double the herbs she was putting in the medicine and in doing so, it caused Amara to sleep for long periods of time. Inuyasha stayed by her side, bathing her face in cool water as her fever spiked, hating himself for allowing her to end up in this condition.

"I am so sorry Amara."

Amara managed to break through the fog in her mind from the medicine and fever just enough to hear Inuyasha.

"Don't blame yourself Inuyasha. This is my fault, not yours."

"You wouldn't be in this mess if you weren't protecting me."

"Inuyasha."

Lifting her hand up, she placed her palm against Inuyashas' cheek and offered him a small smile.

"I will always protect you."

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha covered her hand with his as he tried to control his anger.

"Promise me something."

"What?"

Opening his eyes, he stared straight into hers.

"Don't EVER put yourself in harms way for my sake again."

"Inuyasha.."

"No, promise me."

But, she couldn't. How could she possibly promise him that?

"I can't."

Sighing with frustration, Inuyasha pulled her hand from his face and just held it in his lap.

"How would you feel if I was constantly putting my life on the line to save you?"

"I wouldn't like it."

"Exactly! Don't you see that's how I feel? I can't stand being the reason your hurt."

"I am sorry, but I will not make a promise to you that I can't keep."

"Why not?!"

Didn't he know already? After all these years, was her feelings for him unclear?

"I thought it was obvious already. Inuyasha, you're the only thing I care about in this world. You're more important to me than life itself and that's why I refuse to make a promise I can never keep."

Several minutes went by, then Inuyasha got to his feet. He still had a hold of Amara's hand, so she squeezed his fingers as he stood.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get you some more fruit, since it's the only thing besides the medicine you can keep down."

Releasing her hand, he walked out of the hut. Laying there, Amara stared after him, then turned her gaze to the corner of the room. There sat several baskets of fruit that he had just brought in yesterday. Inuyasha had lied to her.

He didn't go far. No matter how frustrated he was with Amara, he wouldn't take off and leave her. So, needing some time alone to think, he went to a small clearing at the edge of the forest. From there he could still see the hut Amara was in and have his privacy as well. Sitting there, he pondered on Amara's words.

'You're the only thing I care about in this world. You're more important to me than life itself '

Did she really care about him that much? Was it possible?

'I thought it was obvious already.'

'When I see you in danger, my mind kind of shuts down and the only thing I can think of is saving you. I don't think clearly when I see you're about to get hurt'

Did she believe she was the only one who felt that way? He needed her just as much as she needed him. She was just as important to him. But of course, how could she believe that? He was constantly letting her fall in harm's way.

"You can't keep beating yourself up."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Inuyasha turned to look at the one who spoke.

"Kikyo?"

"Do you mind if I sit?"

"No, I don't care."

Moving to his side, Kikyo sat down next to him and looked out to the sky.

"You really do love her, don't you?"

Inuyasha knew she was speaking of Amara, it was the only person she could be talking about.

"She's my best friend, has been for ten years now. She's the only one who ever gave me a chance, who didn't judge me on sight. From the beginning, Amara's been there for me and she's never left my side."

And even though he didn't say the words, that was his way of saying he did love her. Placing her hand on his arm, Kikyo waited for him to look at her.

"She's not the only one anymore, Inuyasha. I accept you as you are."

Inuyasha was speechless. He wasn't sure what to say in return, but Kikyo didn't stay to hear anything. Giving him a soft smile, she got up and walked back to the village, with Inuyasha staring after her with a dumbfounded look on his face. From that moment on, everything was going to change.

Stumbling, Amara made her way back to her bedding, where she should have stayed in the first place. Now, she felt terrible, not only because of the poison that was still within her, but from what she just saw. Inuyasha was talking to Kikyo, opening up to her. She could tell by the look on his face, the softness in his eyes, that he was telling her something personal. It had taken her four months to break through the barrier in his heart and convince him that he could trust her and confide in her. How could he open up to Kikyo after just one month? Perhaps she was being childish, but she didn't like the looks of Inuyasha and Kikyo together. The sight sent a pain so profound through her heart she could barely breathe. Jealousy turned its ugly head within her, an emotion she's never felt before.

"This was an awful idea."

Staying in this village was a mistake and Amara had no desire to stay here, especially not if she was going to lose Inuyasha. No, she refused to lose him, she would not allow it. Forcing herself to her feet, she peeled off the horrid priestess outfit Kikyo had her wearing and pulled on her own kimono. One of the women in the village had cleaned the blood off her clothes and even fixed the tears in it. She was just in the process of pulling on her boots when Inuyasha entered the hut. She saw panic and concern enter his eyes as he looked at the bedding and saw her gone, then looked at her fully dressed and up.

"What are you doing?"

"I feel better Inuyasha. We can leave now and be on our way."

She felt better his ass. Inuyasha knew she was flat-out lying. It wasn't possible, she was pale and perspiration dotted her forehead. Her face was flushed with a fever and he knew it was taking all her strength to stay on her feet.

"Do you think I'm blind?"

"Inuyasha, honestly.."

"No. This isn't up for discussion. We are staying here until all that damn poison is out of your system."

She'd been trying so hard to hold her emotions back, the way she was feeling. But, Inuyashas' refusal to leave or even listen to her, brought it all out.

"Is that the real reason? My health?"

Her question confused him. Why would she even ask that?

"Of course it is."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Amara what's wrong with you?"

"You can't stand to be around other people. You hate crowded places, especially villages. Yet, now you want to stay in one?"

"For you. I'm staying here to make sure you get the care you need."

"Maybe at first that was your reason, but I don't believe it's the case anymore. You see, I think the reason you wont leave is because of Kikyo."

That completely caught Inuyasha off guard. What was Amara talking about? Why would she even think that?

"Kikyo? What are you talking about?"

"I saw you two earlier today. The way you looked when you talked to her, opened up and I know that's what you were doing, I could tell by the look on your face."

A look he had only ever showed to her. His eyes were soft and sad as he looked at Kikyo and talked, he had allowed her to see inside him. She even touched him and he allowed it. The thought that Kikyo was working her way inside him, terrified Amara. What if she did make her way into his heart, what would happen then? Would Kikyo push her out of the picture? She couldn't bare the thought, it was much to painful. Clutching her chest, Amara felt her heart pounding, which caused her to start breathing heavily. Pushing away from the wall, Amara collapsed to her knees.

"Amara!"

Rushing towards her, Inuyasha knelt in front of her and grabbed her upper arms to keep her up right. Being this close to her, he could feel the heat radiating off her, hear her heart pounding and feel her pulse beating extremely fast. Why wasn't she getting any better? It seemed she was just getting worse.

"Kikyo!"

"NO!"

Amara's cry startled Inuyasha. Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly and when she looked up at him, he felt his own heart-break. Her eyes were filled with tears and betrayal.

"Why, Inuyasha? Why are you trying to leave me?"

"I would never leave you, Amara. Why would you even think that?"

Her tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks like rivers. Her body shaking with her sobs; she cried as if her heart were broken.

"Why can't you love me?"

It was like being doused with ice water. Her words tore through him like talons, ripping and tearing everything inside him.

"Amara.."

"Keep her still, Inuyasha."

He didn't need to look to see who it was. Kikyo came up to them and knelt next to Amara, a cup of what looked like tea in her hands.

"Amara, you need to drink this. It will help you."

"No...no, it wont. You just want me out-of-the-way so you can have Inuyasha."

"That is not true and even if it were, do you think Inuyasha would sit by and allow me to harm the person he loves most?"

That brought on another flood of tears.

"He doesn't love me."

This wasn't working. Giving Inuyasha an apologetic look, Kikyo took Amara's chin in her hand and tipped her head back. Pressing the cup to Amara's lips, she tipped the liquid slowly down Amara's throat until it was all gone. Within seconds, the medicine took effect. Becoming drowsy, Amara fell forward against Inuyashas' chest, her eyelids slowly closing.

"I love you..."

Was the last thing she said before the medicine completely took its effect and knocked her out cold.

"Are you alright Inuyasha?"

That was a question he couldn't answer. He couldn't take his eyes off Amara's tear-stained face. She was so, broken.

"Why did she act like that?"

"It was the poison inside her. When the demon bit into Amara and injected her with his poison, he sent a part of himself with it."

"But Amara killed that demon."

"That doesn't matter. So long as the poison remains within her, so will he."

"So, until then, she's going to keep having these episodes?"

"Hopefully, the herbs I picked keep it under control, but unless she stays still, I'm afraid they will continue."

Inuyasha tightened his arms around Amara and held her close to his chest with his cheek resting against hers. Never in the past ten years that he's been with her, has he saw her so broken. Even if the cause was the poison, her pain had been real enough.

"She was so hurt, Kikyo, so heart broken."

"The demon's poison causes a person to start living their personal nightmare. Apparently losing you, is something Amara fears above everything else."

Once again, he was responsible for her pain. Gently, he picked Amara up and laid her back in bed.

"If she stays asleep, will that help?"

"Yes. If she were to stay asleep, then it would help a great deal. This way, she's staying still and isn't kicking the poison up. The medicine would work a whole lot quicker."

Nodding, Inuyasha brushed the wet strands of hair that clung to Amara's face away. He didn't want to make her stay asleep, but from all indications, that's the only thing that was going to save her.

"Very well."

Placing her hand on his shoulder, Kikyo gave him a sympathetic look.

"I know this is hard for you, but it will only be a couple weeks and we'll allow her to stay awake long enough to eat and for you two to talk before giving her the medicine again."

Inuyasha didn't respond, just nodded his head. Taking that as a sign that he wished to be alone, Kikyo left the hut.

"Sister, why don't you use the jewel to save that woman?"

"Because she is a half demon, if I tried to help her with the jewel, I could end up purifying the demon part of her or worse, kill her."

Not to mention, even if she did manage to use the jewel, she had no idea what the consequences of that would be. The jewel was dangerous.