AN: Rumiko Takahashi owns Inuyasha, not me.

.

.

.

.

A few days latter when Kagome was once again jumping through the well back into the feudal era, she had a new back pack that looked almost exactly like her old one, some new equipment, gifts, and was wearing the clothes Sesshomaru had given her.

She figured that since the clothes were of demon weave and they seemed to keep you warm no matter the weather conditions, she may as well continue to wear them, but they were also cute and classy. So what was wrong with being a sexy miko, she had thought.

The only problem with this picture was that Inuyasha seldom, if ever, had the same opinion as she did, even if it were just about clothes. Something that she had failed to think about before she left, which of course, did not become clear until she climbed over the lip of the well.

"Why the hell are you still wearing those clothes!"

Oh yeah, She thought she had forgotten something. Maybe it was the fact that Inuyasha hated his brother and anything to do with him. No it wasn't that hard to forget it, no not at all. Not even when she had a hanyo screaming profanities at her.

"They are warm Inuyasha, and if you hadn't noticed, its getting colder." The weather wasn't the only thing that was cold.

"You don't need to wear clothes that that bastard gave you, we could find you some different clothes that would be better."

"Why should I get different clothes when I have these?"

"He gave them to you."

Honestly, Kagome thought, why couldn't men get to the point? Why did they have to pout and dance around a subject when they could just tell you what was bothering them, but when it came to Inuyasha this was nothing new.

"Inuyasha, just because your brother gave them to me does not mean I should look a gift horse in the mouth."

"A gift hound you mean."

"Inuyasha, just because your brother gave me these clothes does not mean we should simply throw them away."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because they are good and decent clothes and it would be a waste to do so, also, why should we?"

"Cause I say so wench!"

"I am not a wench!"

"Are too!"

Ok, so Inuyasha and Kagome had had their fall out and hard times, that didn't mean they didn't still argue. Just that all their arguments, no matter how childish, had a bitter taste to them now.

"So sorry Inu, but you will have to just deal with the fact that I am going to wear these clothes, and if you even attempt to get rid of them I will. S. I. T you. Your attitude sucks!" An observation Kagome? Or a fact? Her mind thought.

"Why the hell would you want to wear them? They were from that bastard, you know; the enemy. How could you just be so accepting of a gift from him?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe it has to do with the fact that they are, like; awesome, and that it would be rude to reject his gift now that he has saved me?"

"Saved you after he tried to kill you!"

"After many years of not trying to do so and, if fact, saving our hides once or twice. Besides, thats not the point."

"Then what is the point!"

"I wonder, cause it sure doesn't seem to simply be about Sesshomaru." Kagome said in a huff. Inuyasha's attitude was typical for when he was dancing around whatever was bothering him. He would say he was mad about one thing when it was really another; and then expected her to know what it was. Weird tactic.

"You would know all about that wouldn't you." Inuyasha said with a snarl.

"Oh? And how is that?"

"Don't play dumb! You act all innocent when you are just trying to make me jealous and regret bringing Kikiyo to the group. You wander off into the woods at night doing 'who knows what', and then you start walking around with those clothes and act as if there is nothing wrong. Well it wont work!"

Part two in the plan, blame Kagome and turn the tables.

"Don't be so conceited Inuyasha, I hardly take walks at night to make you jealous. It never worked in the past and it would never work now; you have made your choice. And like I just said; the clothes are hardly and issue, it is the fact that they were from Sesshomaru. Am I right? The Whole of the issue is Sesshomaru. Now what part of this picture has you so worked up?"

The only answer Kagome received was Inuyasha's ears flattening against his head and a snarl as he looked away.

Kagome gave a great sigh before she stood up and began to walk past him. "That is what I thought you would say." Inuyasha would never look her in the eye whenever she got too close to hitting the mark on something he didn't want her to know about.

What she didn't expect was for him to grab her by the arm and spin her back to face him.

"I..." He began. It was immediately obvious that he was struggling to even talk to her, much less look her in the eye. But Kagome had seen that look before, and as much as Inuyasha had been a jerk, it was a look that was unwise to ignore when the half-demon was wearing it.

"Inuyasha? Whats wrong?"

After what sounded like a few strangled growls he managed to bring his head up, and face her, eye to eye. "I wasn't there."

"Huh?"

"I wasn't the one who protected you, I wasn't the one who caught you when you fell, and I wasn't the one who rescued you and helped you when you were injured. It was Sesshomaru. And Damn it, I should have been able to do all those things, but I didn't."

Kagome was... confused. To put it lightly. He wanders off for months at a time, fails to lead them, throws a fit when he is all but informed that he is no longer their Alpha leader, and now he says that he should have been there? What was going on in that warped little head of his?

"I know I haven't been there, or done... anything to help you in these past months, I've been more of a burden than help. I know."

Wow, if Kagome had been confused before, she was floored now. Inuyasha admitting he had made a mistake? Ok seriously, what on earth was going on in that warped, confused, and puppy eared head of his? But these thoughts too went out of her head when he hugged her to his chest in a strong hold. Kagome could almost swear her eyes bugged out of her head for a second.

"I didn't want to loose you. All I could think while we were searching for you was how I should have been there, how I should have been able to take care of you, all of you."

Kagome stood still for a moment before she pushed against his chest to get a better look at his face.

"I don't understand, you almost walked away from the group, but then something happens and then you realized what you were doing?"

He growled in his throat before gripping her arms. "Just listen for a moment ok? I am trying to apologize here!"

Kagome could only blink at him for a moment before she nodded her head. 'This might take a while,' she thought.

"When I was... acting weird, before Kikiyo joined, I guess I just... wanted to push you away."

"You did a fine job of it." 'Oh, no talk, just listen Kagome.'

But, instead of becoming angry at her, he just smiled sadly. "Don't I know it. I guess... I wanted you to hate me."

Kagome gasped in shock before her face turned to one of worry. "You wanted me to hate you, but why?"

"Cause then, I thought it would be easier to let you go, or force you to return to your own time, and maybe, that if you rejected me then..." No more needed to be said. Kagome got the picture.

Inuyasha had few things that he could hold onto, and one of those things were friends who he could actually consider trustworthy. Whatever had given him the reason or the idea, Inuyasha didn't want to let their friendship go, it was something he couldn't do. Either he would regret it, or she would simply, and stubbornly, come stomping back. He thought it would be easier to let her go if he could make her hate him. Force her to leave as it were. But why did he want her to leave in the first place?

"Why, why make me leave then? We were doing fine before, even with all of our problems, why now?"

It came out in one word, "Kikiyo."

"What, you wanted to get rid of me so you could have Kikiyo, or Kikiyo put pressure on you to get rid of me?" she wished the words hadn't come out so bitter, but they did.

"Keh, a little of both. Part of the reason I wanted you gone was so you wouldn't be hurt. I thought that with Kikiyo we would still be able to find the shards and you could... go back... to your life and those tests of yours."

So now she had the full story. Still...that didn't excuse Inuyasha's behavior, and if his bent head was anything to go by, he knew it as well.

"And what about how you treated the rest of us? What about how you acted before Kikiyo joined, there has to be more to it than you just wanted to push me away. You were gone so much of the time Inuyasha, it couldn't just be that."

"Yeah, and for that... I have no excuse... guess it took you getting hurt for me to realize that. I am sorry."

Kagome could only look at him for a long while, her gaze thoughtful. She could see part of why he had acted the way he did, but he had put all of them in jeopardy with his immature behavior that seems to be just that; an immature whim carried out with his dead lover that was then used to push her away.

"Inuyasha, how on Earth do you get yourself into these situations."

The silence was defining to Inuyasha, he wished she would yell at him, tell him to go away, hit him, sit him, do anything but look at him like that, he could handle her doing anything but that. Screaming women were things he could handle, quiet contemplative women... who knows what they were thinking. Ether way, it was never really good.

Finally she spoke; "You realize that you can't go back Inuyasha, that you still can't have both Kikiyo and I?"

Silently, he nodded, his ears flat against his head, sure that her next words would mean ether asking him to leave, or she would leave. He would never have the chance to make up for what he did, but he would have brought it on himself.

"You stupid idiot."

"here it comes."

"I already said I wasn't leaving till the jewel was complete. But if you think I am letting you get off easy you are sadly mistaken."

His head jerked up to stare at her wide eyed. This wasn't what he expected.

"You mean...you aren't sending me away?"

Kagome shook her head with an exasperated sigh, "No, I won't send you away, and while I am mad at you, your simply going to have to deal with the fact that I am not going anywhere."

"But...what about what I did..?"

Kagome smiled, "well, your just going to have to think of a way to make up for it wont you?"

Inuyasha didn't know weather he should be terrified or joyful to hear those words, after all, there was no telling what she would have him do to make up for his transgression.

His confusion must have shown on his face, for Kagome laughed and continued to walk past him. But then turned around and said to him, "Oh and Inuyasha?"

'Here it comes, she is going to kill me,' "Yeah?"

"You don't have to be afraid of us, were here for you."

To anyone else, these words may have made no sense or had very little meaning. But for the hanyo who had spent most of his young life alone and in fear of loosing what little belonged to him, they meant more than he would ever be able to convey.