Who's with me...anybody?...

Inuyasha found Kagome sitting at the place where the two worlds divided.

"Kagome? Can we talk?" Inuyasha asked softly

"Um…sure. What's up?" she asked cheerfully. Inuyasha was a little taken back.

"Uh, I thought you were…upset with me."

"I was but then I realized what I had actually seen."

"Uh…what did you see Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. He was a bit confused and slightly worried. It was not like Kagome to take things lightly, especially when it came to Kikyo.

"Well, I saw you two standing there and I saw her kiss you. You wrapped your arms around her but I could tell that you were only humoring her," she said calmly.

"Uh…well…I wouldn't put it quite like that," he said nervously.

"Well, what were you doing then?" Her voice was now a threatening tone and Inuyasha hesitated before answering, for he knew what was coming next. "Well…INUYASHA!"

"ALRIGHT! DAMMIT! Listen Kagome, you know I care about you and everything but…"

"BUT WHAT?"

"Well…" he sighed and then just blurted it out. "I'm still in love with Kikyo." He squinted his eyes waiting for the command. Seconds passed but she still had not said it.

"Uh…Kagome? Did you hear what I said?" He looked at her and she was crying silently. "Aw, Kagome, please don't cry. You know, I…I never said that we were a…you know…so I mean, it can't be all that bad. At least now you know how I feel." She turned and glared at him angrily.

"Let me give you a taste of how I feel," she said coldly. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the pain that he knew was coming but it never came. Instead, he could feel Kagome's warm tongue forcing its way into his mouth. He pushed her away and glared at her.

"Kagome! We can't…I told you that I love…"

"I don't care Inuyasha! I love you! Doesn't that count for something?" she asked tearfully.

"Well…you know…I can't…I love you too Kagome…just not the way you love me. Listen, try to understand, I…"

"SIT BOY!' SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!"

"HEY KAGOME! CUT…IT…OUT…DAMMIT!" The pain in his back was starting to get unbearable. "Kikyo would never hurt me like this," he said coldly. She glared at him angrily for a moment before storming off towards the village.

"Dammit all…I can't…" Inuyasha just laid there on the ground. His head and back were killing him and he was in no hurry to get up off the ground. Seconds later he could hear someone approaching. Please don't be a demon.

"Hey, Inuyasha. It's me, Miroku...Why are you on the ground?"

"Kagome."

"Oh…yeah…sorry. So um…I take it you told her the news."

"Yeah, I told her," he mumbled as Miroku helped him up off of the ground.

"Is she still going to help us find the remaining shards?"

"Hell if I know."

"Um…aren't you the least bit concerned Inuyasha? We need her help you know."

"Actually we don't need her help," he replied nonchalantly.

"How you figure? I suppose you've found a better way to track down the jewels?"

"No, not really."

"Then how do you suppose we…?"

"There are other people around that have the power to track the sacred jewels."

"Other people? Inuyasha, are you talking about…?"

"Kikyo."

"Inuyasha, are you out of your mind? She can't…I mean, she's already tried to drag you to hell once and…"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Kaede—I'll go to hell and back for Kikyo if I have to."

Miroku sighed as he followed Inuyasha back into the village.

"Alright. So are we ready to go? The longer we wait, the farther away Naraku gets," Inuyasha said impatiently. No one said a word. "Alright then. Fine. I'll find the shards with or without your help." Inuyasha started to walk away.

"Inuyasha, wait. Don't do this."

"What am I doing Miroku? All I'm doing is trying to go and stop Naraku. What does stopping Naraku have to do with my love life? Because I said I loved Kikyo, now all of a sudden everyone wants to act like a bitch. Be that way. If no one wants to help then I'll go to the only other person I trust and get their help."

"You mean Kikyo," Sango replied curtly.

"That's right. I mean, I could go to Sesshomaru but he's a little bitch as well and it wouldn't do any good to travel with him. For starters, he has no clue to how to find the jewel shards and we'll spend half the journey fighting over my tetsaiga. Therefore, my only hope is Kikyo. At least she has a good reason for treating me like a dog," Inuyasha said coldly.

"What? And Kagome doesn't? You just dumped her for that dead priestess!"

"I am going to say this one last time." He released his claws and glared at them all. His glare was so scary that Shippo ran inside Kaede's hut.

"I never said Kagome was my girlfriend. You all assumed she was my girl because I always protected her and carried her on my back." They all shifted a little as Inuyasha continued to speak. "Even though she is NOT my girlfriend, that won't stop me from caring or protecting her, but I will not sit around and continue to let you all throw things in my face after all I've done for you."

"But Inuyasha…"

"Miroku, I'm not blaming you entirely, but you always let Sango tell you what to do. That's your business. If you love her then do what it takes to keep her. I am only trying to do the same."

"But how can you protect someone who's already dead?" Kagome had finally spoke up. She was still crying but she was no longer seething with anger.

"Her body may be dead but her soul is not. She is the same Kikyo that she was fifty years ago, that same Kikyo that I was planning to spend the rest of my life with. She can still feel. Pain, sadness, joy; all of which are emotions and in my book, if you can feel then you are alive."

Inuyasha paused and stared at the ground. He didn't realize that a tear had fallen down his cheek.

"When I saw her earlier today…she was…hurt. It broke my heart to see her like that. At that moment, I made a promise to her, a promise that I'll protect her no matter what and I am going to do that with or without your help."

Miroku walked up to Inuyasha. "I'm coming with you buddy. I'm sorry I..."

"It's ok. Let's just go and find Kikyo so we can get the jewels and destroy Naraku."

The guys started to make their way up the path and out of the village when Kirara came up beside them. They turned around and saw Sango along with Kagome, who seemed out of it, and Shippo following along. Sango hurried up beside Miroku.

"So you two decided to come along anyway."

"Yeah, well I was gonna come anyway, but I couldn't leave Kagome hanging. Anyway, she's still upset but has agreed to help find the jewels as long as Kikyo isn't traveling with us."

"Whatever," Inuyasha said, his mood immediately turning from bad to worse. Oh, well. Kikyo I'll find you soon but until then, I hope you are somewhere safe.

AN: Yeah, I know. Another short chapter but it's late and my head hurts. I've been writing all day...Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It was very emotional...I wasn't planning on making it very emotional but I did. Inuyasha's a softie for Kikyo anyway. Bwahahaha REVIEW. That is all.