Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Inuyasha, or this would not be called a fanfiction.

A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. I've been really busy. It's early in the morning, so forgive me of any mistakes. I'll fix them.

And the moment you've all been waiting for, FLUFF! Well, kinda. Not really.

Chapter 9

"NO! Absolutely not!"

"Inuyasha, please? It's not like you can find them without me, you know." Kagome glared pointedly.

It had all started earlier that morning. Inuyasha announced that they would be looking for the missing jewel shards, but Kagome would stay behind in the village with Shippo. Inuyasha then retreated to his tree, the God tree, where Kagome followed him.

"We can find them without you, it's just a matter of digging and searching. You're staying here with Kaede. End of discussion."

Kagome let out a squeal of frustration. The stubborn hanyou just would not listen.

Inuyasha misinterpreted her squeal of frustration for a sob, and his eyes softened momentarily. He jumped down from the tree, his bangs hiding his amber eyes.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again." He spoke so softly that Kagome's human ears barely picked up the sound.

When he looked up, his amber eyes were clouded in pain. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Kagome's startled form, using his hand to stroke Kagome's hair comfortingly.

Kagome stiffened instinctively. The feel of arms around her brought back bad memories.

'Breathe, Kagome. It's just Inuyasha…its okay.' Kagome took a couple of slow, deep breaths before she realized that Inuyasha was speaking to her.

"…can't expect you to look for the shards…"

Kagome looked up expectantly. "How do you expect to find them without me? Please, Inuyasha?" She put her best effort into making Inuyasha realize how much this truly meant to her.

Inuyasha relented. "Fine, we leave at dawn." He left the hut abruptly.

'Inuyasha's getting soft…' Kagome giggled at the thought. She could get used to this.

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Sango wiped the sweat of her brow with the back of her hand.

'It sure is hot out here.' She glanced back at Miroku, making sure his hands were to himself. He gave her his best 'I'm completely innocent' look in return.

Sango sighed. 'Some people never change.'

'Then again, maybe they do.' She thought as she turned her head to look towards Kagome and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had been at Kagome's side all day, never being two steps away from the young miko. She, in turn, never really made any effort to move away from him.

This, however, tended to increase their daily bickering.

Sometime later, they reached a small clearing that was surrounded by close-knit trees. The sun was beginning to set, casting colors of red and orange across the blue sky. Somewhere in the distance, an owl began to coo.

"I'm tired," Shippo complained from his perch on Kagome's shoulder.

"Just a little farther, Shippo. Can you wait that long?" Kagome turned to ask him.

Shippo's eyes widened, and his bottom lip began to tremble. "I don't know if I can make it any longer! I'm tired…" He flopped himself over Kagome's shoulder dramatically to accent his point.

Inuyasha snorted.

"Inuyasha, lets stop for the night. This looks like a good place to camp." Kagome put the kitsune baby down and began to unpack her sleeping bag.

"No, we've taken three breaks already!" Inuyasha whirled around and pointed at Shippo. "He can't be tired, you've been carrying him all day and coddling him! He's had it easy!"

Miroku chuckled at Inuyasha's small temper tantrum, turning it into a polite cough when the hanyou turned to glare at him.

"Kagome's right, Inuyasha," Sango said, laying down Hiraikotsu. "Besides, we may not find a good clearing like this for miles. We should stop here."

"Keh." Inuyasha knew when he was outvoted, and instead leapt up into the nearest tree to pout as the humans set up camp.

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Inuyasha took the first watch. He had been waiting for night to come for some time, so he could be alone with his thoughts.

'What made Kagome want to come shard hunting?'

He looked down at the said person in question, his eyes softening. He could hear the steady harmony of Kagome's breathing, signaling that the young miko had fallen asleep.

'I'd be much easier for me to make Naraku suffer…if she would just stay in her time like I told her too…'

Deep down, Inuyasha knew that wasn't true. He wanted to make Naraku suffer, suffer the most cruel, vile thing he could possibly think of. He just didn't want Kagome to have to see it. In fact, he never wanted to give the bastard the chance to lay eyes on Kagome again.

The very thought of Naraku leering at Kagome made his stomach turn, bile rising in his throat.

'If it's the last thing I do, he will fucking suffer…'

A small noise from the campsite below dragged Inuyasha out of his dreams of pulling Naraku apart limb from limb.

He jumped down, crossing the campsite easily to the source of the noise.

Kagome lay in her sleeping bag, with Shippo curled up against her stomach. Every so often, she would whimper and twitch back in her sleep.

Inuyasha reached down and pulled the sleeping kitsune from the bag, but had barely put him down before a distinct smell wafted past his super-sensitive nose.

The smell of salt…and something else he couldn't quite place. He sniffed dramatically, before it clicked. He had smelled this before.

FLASHBACK

"But Mom," a much younger Inuyasha whined. "Why not? Why can't I go outside?"

"Because, my beautiful Inu-chan…" his mother cooed, tweeking his nose affectionately. She had a faraway, sad look in her eyes as she picked up her young son. "It's a dangerous world out there."

"Can't I at least look out the window? I want to see the sun set…" Inuyasha trailed off.

"Sure, go right ahead." His mom carried him over to the window, and he looked outside at the empty village.

Just in front of the window, a woman straightened up after tending her garden. She straightened the kinks from her back and petted her belly affectionately.

"Mommy, why does that lady do that?" Inuyasha pointed to the woman.

"She's going to have a baby, Inu-chan."

END FLASHBACK

Inuyasha's eyes widened. He leaned close, until he was about two inches away from Kagome, and inhaled again.

It was faint, barely noticeable, but it was there.

Inuyasha tore himself away from Kagome and began to shout at the top of his lungs, startling his traveling companions out of their slumber.

"Naraku, you're going to fucking DIE!"

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I know, you all hate me. Naraku's plan will be revealed shortly.