Hey gang! Well, this weekend wasn't too bad. Friday night, I went and watched my step brother graduate. It was cool and all, although it was cold. It didn't start till 8 in the evening, and it had sprinkled, plus the air was just cool. I only had a short sleeve shirt and jeans on, but I survived. Actually, I wasn't too bad off till the end, when the breeze picked up. On Saturday, my step brother had a graduation party. I saw a lot of people and didn't do much all day. I managed to survive, lol. Yesterday, not much else happened. I saw my grandfather, who was doing alright, which I'm thankful for. Other than that, nothing happened, so fun fun, other than I'm enjoying my three day weekend. My poor mate has to work today, but oh well, hehe.

Writing wise, I've gotten some more work done on this story, and a bit of planning done on Minutes to Midnight. Otherwise, not too much to report on this. I've not really wrote much this weekend, but oh well, lol.

Alright, moving along, time for reviews!

Kattana: Yep, the gang has decided to beat the mages. Heh, true, I do kind of feel bad for the mages that will cross with Sesshomaru. After all, Ichimaru pissed Sesshomaru off on his first visit. Imagine a second confrontation, hehe. But true, he isn't going to show much leniency on any of the mages. Thanks for the review!


Mitsukai – Lady of Gryffindor: Lol, I know, you didn't slam me, and I had a poor choice of words for what you said I suppose. You did a great job on giving me helpful pointers. There, that better? I hope it was, lol. I've seen worse actually, ones that were so much helpful as just slamming for real, but oh well, it happens sometimes. Yes, poor Inuyasha's face is getting flatter by the moment at the rate he keeps going. But yes, he has two conflicting sides. One to protect Kagome, and the other being his pride, I suppose. Heh, mushy stuff eh? It may come along. Never know, hehe. Thanks for the review, and I hope you liked the ones I gave you on your stories.

Well, that does it for me today. Thank you to all of you that sent me reviews. I really enjoyed reading them. They were helpful as always. And to any who wish to review, but think I'll bite your head off, no worries. I'm always kind in my replies, unless I'm hungry, then I bite heads off of people, lol. But seriously, if anyone has any kind of comments, opinions, or questions, I encourage you to review/PM. I'll do my best to answer that review/PM.

Anyways, I'm out. Enjoy your Memorial Day!

Chapter 25

Upon the group deciding to part ways, the search for lunch began. After procuring some fish from the stream nearby, a fire was started and the fish were cooked to perfection, with only Sesshomaru opting not to eat.

With their stomachs full, the group realized that it was time to begin their quests. For the most part, Kagome, Sango, and Shippou were shedding tears over the situation.

"Sango, you're my best friend." Kagome softly declared with tears in her eyes.

Warmly smiling at Kagome with tears shimmering in her own eyes, Sango replied "And you're my best friend Kagome. Please try not to worry."

Letting out a weak mew from Sango's shoulder, Kirara leapt into Kagome's arms. Smiling, Kagome scratched her head and said "You take care too Kirara."

That said, the small neko leapt down to the ground and lightly rubbed up against Kagome's legs before moving back to beside of Sango.

Weakly smiling at Sango, Kagome said "Promise me that you'll make it back."

Nodding, Sango replied "I promise I will. I won't break my promise to you, but you have to do the same. Promise me you'll make it back too."

"I will, I swear it. We're best friends, and I'd be a lousy friend to go back on my word." Kagome remarked.

The two each lightly smiled at one another and let out a chuckle. In a simultaneous motion, the two hugged one another, each allowing their tears to fall onto the other.

"We'll meet again, I know it." Kagome softly whispered.

Sango only lightly nodded and whispered back "We will, I know it."

Separating, the two stared at one another's face, with each weakly smiling. Glancing at Inuyasha not far away, Sango lowly whispered "Try not to be too hard on Inuyasha."

Lightly blushing, Kagome nodded and softly said "Don't be too hard on Miroku either. After all, he's your mate now."

"Don't worry about him, I won't let anything happen to him." Sango confidently said with a smirk.

Hugging once more, the girls released each other. Moving over to Miroku, Kagome hugged him and whispered "Take good care of her Miroku. Please, both of you come back."

Releasing Kagome, Miroku looked her in the face and smiled softly. "We will return Kagome, don't worry. I'll do everything I can to protect her. You come back to us too, okay?"

"Okay." Kagome remarked with a small smile.

Glancing towards Inuyasha, Miroku whispered lowly to her "And try not to be mad at Inuyasha. You know how he is."

"Yeah…" she quietly mumbled. "I'll try."

Smiling at her once more, Miroku backed away, allowing Shippou to leap up into Kagome's arms. He was wailing loudly and clutched her chest tightly while tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Please don't leave me Kagome!" he wailed loudly while soaking her kimono top.

Feeling her heart break while hearing Shippou, she gently rubbed the top of his head and hugged him to her body. In a comforting voice, she warmly said "Don't worry Shippou, it won't be long. I'll return to you, I promise."

Easing up on his crying, Shippou looked up at her and weakly asked "You really mean it?"

"I do. I promise, me and Inuyasha will come back. For now though, you have to go with the others." Kagome soothingly said. "Be a big boy and listen well to them. I know you'll be safe. Can you do that for me?"

Wiping his eyes with his hands, Shippou lightly nodded and sniffled. "I will." he quietly remarked.

Softly smiling at him, Kagome hugged him to her chest once again and kissed his head. "I love you Shippou, and we will be back. I promise you, ok?"

"Ok…" he whispered back. "I love you too."

Handing him over to Sango, she lightly smiled and said "Please do take good care of him Sango."

"No need to worry Kagome, we'll protect him. Shippou is safe with us." Miroku remarked, making Kagome nod lightly.

Moving down to Kohaku, Kagome softly smiled and embraced the young man. "Be careful with the others Kohaku." Kagome quietly said to him.

Returning the hug, Kohaku replied "I shall Miss Kagome. You take care of yourself too."

Pulling back, Kagome smiled at him and said "Try not to worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Do return Miss Kagome. Things wouldn't be the same without you." Kohaku remarked, earning a small smile from her.

"Be careful Kagome, and do return to us." Sango quietly said.

Smiling, Kagome nodded and replied "Don't worry, I'll be with Inuyasha, Iya, and Ichigo, so I'll be back. I know we'll succeed."

Once more smiling, she quietly said "Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye to you too Kagome." Sango mumbled back.

Those words said, Kagome walked away towards Rin. Lightly, she hugged the young woman. Pulling back, she said "Please return Rin."

"Don't worry Kagome, Lord Sesshomaru will protect me if I get into trouble." Rin cheerfully replied. Turning serious, she added "Take care of yourself too Kagome. I wish to see you again."

"We'll see one another again. Till then, stay safe." Kagome remarked. Hugging once more, Kagome moved onto to where Sesshomaru stood.

Sighing lightly, Kagome warmly smiled and said "Be careful Sesshomaru."

Silence was the only answer she received, with the stoic demon not uttering a word or giving her a glance. Sighing again, Kagome humbly added "I apologize for earlier over Inuyasha's behavior. Even though his words rang with truth, it was the wrong time for him to bring it up."

"The words of that hanyou do not concern this Sesshomaru."

Sighing again, Kagome nodded and softly said "Regardless, I wish you a safe return."

Walking away, Kagome didn't even hear the Lord of the Western Lands mumble "Return safely miko."

Moving to Ryo last, Kagome softly smiled. "I wish I had more time to get to know you, but I suppose it can't be helped."

"No, it can't my lady." Ryo remarked with a small smile. "Take care Lady Kagome, and do try to be easy on your future mate."

Blushing heavily at his words, Kagome stammered "He's not my future mate."

"That's not true by the looks you give one another. Then again, that fight did make it hard to see also. But I know you two will mate, one day. I only hope you two return so that you can." Ryo smartly said.

Still blushing deeply, Kagome looked away and said "Goodbye Ryo."

"Goodbye Lady Kagome. Till our next meeting."

With his words said, Kagome quickly rushed over towards where her group was to meet and sat down on a rock with her hands on her warm cheeks.

--

Once Kagome had finished up with Miroku and Sango, Inuyasha moved in and said "Keh, the five of you better return."

"Take care of Kagome." Sango sharply remarked.

"Feh, why should I?"

Glaring at Inuyasha, Sango lowly snarled "Quit being an asshole and take care of her! She cares deeply for you, so don't screw it up!"

Taken aback a bit by Sango's words, Inuyasha stuffed his fists into his sleeves and muttered "Feh!"

In a calm voice, Miroku said "Inuyasha, it's up to you to protect her. Do what you can, alright?"

"Feh, quit worrying." Inuyasha lowly mumbled. "I won't let anything happen to her, no matter what."

Satisfied, Miroku softened his features and extended his hand. "Take care Inuyasha and return to us."

Looking at Miroku's hand for a moment, Inuyasha finally pulled his own right hand out of his kimono sleeve and took Miroku's in his own. The two shook hands, making Inuyasha lightly smile. The smile quickly faded though, with Inuyasha pulling back his hand and stuffing it back into his sleeve.

"Just come back, you hear." he grumbled while walking away.

The group only lightly chuckled at this while the retreating figure of Inuyasha mumbled lowly in his mind "Please, do come back. You're my pack, and should something happen to any of you, I'll avenge all of you."

Returning his thoughts to what he was doing, he noted he was heading for Sesshomaru. The Lord of the Western Lands had his eyes trained on the distance, as if disinterested in everything else going on.

Nearing him, Inuyasha stopped with ten feet between the two of them. Glaring at his older brother, he felt rage deep within him welling up, seemingly rearing to be let go, but he pushed it to the back of his mind with all his might. Reigning in his emotions, Inuyasha felt his jaws were clenched shut.

With all of his might, he finally gruffly said "You'd better return from this trip Sesshomaru. We have unfinished business."

Turning his eyes to Inuyasha, Sesshomaru coolly said "This Sesshomaru will not be felled by the likes of those pitiful mages. Make sure that you, little brother, survive as well."

A bit shocked that Sesshomaru was even acknowledging him, Inuyasha cockily grinned and replied "I won't let those bastards kill me either."

Upon finishing, Inuyasha quietly padded away towards where Kagome was, but decided to move to a high rock nearby instead. He completely ignored Ryo, which made the dog demon frown but quickly shrug it off.

--

Watching Ichigo, Orihime, and Lilly say their goodbyes to the others, Iya came over to part of the humans turned half demon himself. Warmly smiling to him, he calmly said "I know you all will succeed in your mission."

Glancing towards Sesshomaru, Iya added "Do try to follow Sesshomaru's orders, so long as they're within reason."

"We will." Miroku replied. Throwing a glance towards the two figures near the rocks, he added "Take care of them Iya."

Nodding, Iya replied "I swear I will. We'll make it back, no matter what."

"Please do. I would hate to lose any of you." Sango quietly said. Lightly smiling, she lowly said "Take care of Lilly."

Looking inquisitively at Sango, Iya was about to ask why she asked when she answered him with a smirk. "You know she cares for you."

Lightly blushing, Iya pushed it away and softly said "I'll take care of her, I promise."

Regaining his composure, he added "Take care, all of you. We'll see one another again, I know it."

"As do we." Miroku replied.

Nodding, Iya walked off quietly to find Rin. Finding her, he smiled softly and asked "You know Sesshomaru won't allow the mages to take you, right?"

"Of course." Rin happily chirped. "Lord Sesshomaru has always been there to protect me. I know we'll get those mages."

Lightly patting her shoulder, he smiled and said "Take care Rin."

"You too Iya." she warmly replied. Glancing around, she leaned in close to him and whispered "I think Lilly has a crush on you."

Iya's cheeks instantly heated lightly upon Rin's words, but he pushed his emotions aside and smiled. "Thank you." he quietly mumbled.

Walking away from Rin, he found Sesshomaru quickly. He was standing in the same spot, staring off into the distance like he had been when Inuyasha and Kagome talked with him.

Getting a few feet from him, Iya lightly smiled. "Please take care of them, brother. I wish to see all of them again, along with you."

Throwing a glance towards Iya, Sesshomaru stoically replied "This Sesshomaru shall not be bested by the mages. That much is for certain. This Sesshomaru shall return this group."

Pausing for a moment, he then added "This Sesshomaru expects the same from you, brother. Return with them."

Letting a small smile escape, Iya lightly said "I will Sesshomaru. Farewell, and do try not to be too hard on them."

Sesshomaru only let out a grunt and moved towards the group he was to lead. Walking off, Iya found Ryo and smirked.

"Try not to piss him off too much." Iya sarcastically said.

Chuckling, Ryo replied "Don't worry too much, I'll behave."

Turning serious, he added "Do be careful Iya. The two mages you're going after are said to be two of the strongest. It's been said that if something ever happened to Byakuya, those two would become the driving force of the group."

"I know Kenshin is powerful. He's demonstrated that on numerous occasions, not to mention shown that he's not even trying yet." Iya remarked. "I think Ichigo will be ready though. If he can unlock the power of Zangetsu's next form, he should be a good match for Kenshin at long last. As for Kurama, I only hope Inuyasha knows what he is getting into. I'll try and explain more of it to him, and to all of them so they have a clue."

Lightly sighing, Iya slowly said "I'm sorry to get you involved in this."

"Heh, it's not you who got me involved!" Ryo declared. "It's my choice, and I will fight to save those half demons. They deserve to live free lives, not be cooped up and turned into play things for the mages."

Smiling lightly at this, Iya nodded and put a hand on Ryo's shoulder, saying "Do return though. I'd hate to have to bury a friend."

"Like Sesshomaru would carry me back."

Both let out a chuckle at the comment before each turned more serious. The two then hugged one another and finally released each other.

"Safe journey Iya. Return to us." Ryo calmly said.

Nodding, Iya replied "Safe journey to you too Ryo. Make sure you come back."

Turning away from one another, the two each moved towards the respected groups. Once each reached their groups, the two groups faced one another one last time. Each said their goodbyes and turned away from the other, beginning their journeys.

--

Quietly sneaking up on a deer, Inuyasha quietly crept forward. Ichigo was off to his side nearby, flanking him to make sure the deer didn't escape.

Finally closing into where he could reach the deer, Inuyasha sprang forward a mad dash and slashed the deer across the neck before it could react. Felling the deer, he quickly made a death blow by crushing it's neck, easily killing it.

Smirking at his accomplishment, Inuyasha turned to Ichigo. "See, that's how it's done!" he smugly remarked.

Scowling like always, Ichigo shrugged and said "If that's how it's done, then you don't mind cleaning it up yourself."

"The hell I will!" Inuyasha growled out.

Smirking at the reaction, Ichigo calmly replied "Let's get this thing cleaned up and ready to take back. I'm starving. Besides, I have training to work on."

"Feh, it's nothing but training for you. What the hell are you training for anyways!?" Inuyasha bluntly questioned.

Turning a light glare towards him, Ichigo grumbled out "To kill Kenshin."

"Like training will ever help you do that."

"Shut your mouth!" Ichigo angrily spat. "You don't know how powerful he is! I know! I fought him and lost, horribly! Once I finish my training though, that bastard will fall at my hands!"

Taken aback by Ichigo's declarations, Inuyasha stuffed his bloody claws into his kimono sleeves and turned his head away, muttering "Feh."

--

After two hours, the two hunters finally returned with the deer. A fire with a spit over it was set up, seemingly waiting for the pair.

"What took you two so long?" Orihime questioned. "It normally only takes an hour or so to usually find something to eat and get it ready to cook."

"Shut up Orihime and be thankful that we brought anything back." Ichigo growled out, earning him a light giggle from Orihime. "What's so funny?"

Smiling at him, she replied "Just you."

"Whatever…" he grumbled while walking off towards the nearby stream.

Watching him walk away, Orihime lightly sighed and watched his retreating figure. Deciding to return her gaze back to what she had been watching, she looked over to see Iya still training Lilly and Kagome. They were each practicing with their swords, with Lilly learning defensive moves and Kagome trying to learn more about pouring more of one of her two powers into her sword.

"Very good Kagome, that's the way you should do it if you want to pour more miko energy into Hikari." Iya congratulated.

Smiling back at him, Kagome returned her line of sight to the pink glowing sword before her. It had taken a good bit of effort for her to learn how to equalize the power of her miko and demonic powers without purifying herself, but with Hikari now hers, she managed to do it much easier. The sword worked like an outlet to her powers, making it much easier for her to unleash them without having to balance her two powers. She could now access her miko and demonic powers, but still she had to be careful according to Iya to not get too carried away, just in case Hikari was ever knocked away from her. If it was, without an outlet, that power could kill her, pending on which power she was using heavily.

Returning the blade to it's normal dull grey metal form, she let out a bit of a sigh of relief and watched the sword revert from it's halberd form, that looked much like Tetsusaiga and Ketsaiga, but with a bit of pink fur at the guard, to it's normal state. Hikari was very different from Tetsusaiga and Ketsaiga in many respects though. Unlike the other two, Hikari didn't need her demonic energy to transform. It could use either her miko or demonic power to do that. Still, Iya recommended not using it while she was human, just to make sure she didn't harm herself. Also, even without being transformed, she could use it's powers. True that the power omitted was weaker, but still, if she had to, she could use it's weaker form to fight off an enemy.

Taking a deep breath, she sheathed the sword and smiled at Iya once more. "Thank you for the help Iya."

"Not a problem." Iya replied with a smile himself. "Just keep practicing. In no time, you'll have the demonic energy of your sword under your control."

Nodding lightly, Kagome softly smiled and responded with "Thanks."

Noting that the sun had done gone down and that they would need sleep soon, Iya kindly called out "Lilly."

Stopping her practice, Lilly turned her attention to Iya. Seeing he had it, he smiled and said "Why don't you and Kagome take Orihime and get cleaned up? There is a hot spring nearby, from what I can smell."

"Sure, that sounds great!" Lilly warmly said. Sheathing Kimi, she ran to Kagome, who smiled and ran with her to where Orihime sat.

After a moment of talking, the three grabbed Kagome's nearby bag and ran off, following the scent of the hot spring.

Taking up a seat by the fire, Iya noted Inuyasha was resting up against a nearby tree with his feet folded up under him and his hands in his sleeves and Tetsusaiga on his shoulder.

"So, what took so long?" Iya asked.

Scowling off in the direction that Ichigo had walked off in, Inuyasha grumbled "That bastard got pissed off at me and barely helped me skin that deer."

Frowning, Iya asked "What did you say to him?"

"Feh, like I would know. And why the hell did you let those girls go off alone!? What if they get attacked?"

Heavily sighing, Iya replied "They'll be fine. Orihime is with them anyways. She can protect them if she has to, but I figure Lilly and Kagome are more than capable of defending themselves now."

"Keh, doubtful."

Sighing, Iya looked off towards the stream. After a few minutes of silence, Iya asked "Are you going to apologize to Kagome?"

"Apologize!?" Inuyasha asked in shock. "WHY THE FUCK SHOULD I APOLOGIZE!?"

Heavily sighing, Iya replied "For what you did earlier today, and for yesterday too. You know, throwing Shippou up against that tree and arguing with Sesshomaru today for no reason."

"Why should I apologize!? That kit wouldn't shut up and Sesshomaru had it coming." Inuyasha irritably replied.

"Inuyasha, did it ever occur to you that you might hurt Shippou by throwing him like that?" Iya asked patiently.

Thinking for a moment, Inuyasha fired back "No, I knew that the kit wouldn't get hurt. I didn't throw him too hard, just enough to knock some sense into him."

"So you didn't really harm him?"

"I said I only threw him hard enough to knock some sense into him! It's not like I was trying to kill him!" Inuyasha lashed out.

Satisfied with the answer, Iya asked "Why didn't you tell Kagome that you weren't trying to really harm Shippou then?"

Stuffing his fists into his sleeves, he lowly growled out "She wouldn't listen."

"I think you give her too little a credit Inuyasha. She would have listened to you." Iya calmly remarked.

"Feh, I doubt it."

Lightly chuckling at his brother, Iya decided to push and asked "Why did you start that argument with Sesshomaru yesterday?"

"That asshole has done so much to me in the past, and he goes on about he doesn't hold grudges!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "He held a grudge over me inheriting Tetsusaiga forever. He's always claimed it was his when in reality father left it to me, not him!"

Nodding, Iya replied "Sesshomaru was hurt that father gave you Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha. In a way, I suppose I can relate. I was given Ketsaiga long before you inherited Tetsusaiga. Sesshomaru was a bit jealous of that, but he didn't bring it up to father. He felt father passed over him again when you received Tetsusaiga and gave him Tenseiga. To him then, it was useless, but in reality, the sword is probably the strongest of the three. It can bring back to life a person, while the other two are used for to destroy things."

"Keh, he doesn't care. That's why I said what I said yesterday."

Frowning lightly, Iya asked "Did you ever stop to think though that it was the wrong time to bring it up?"

"No."

"It kind of was the wrong time Inuyasha." Iya remarked. "After all, we were trying to figure out what to do about the current problem, while you dragged up the past. Kagome I think wanted you to let it go."

Glaring at Iya, Inuyasha snarled "I can never let go of what that jackass did to me! He tried to kill me, used a demon to look like my dead mother, and nearly killed Kagome and my other friends! For those things, I can never forgive Sesshomaru!"

Lightly sighing, Iya replied "Those are in the past though, and you could have brought them up later when it was you and Sesshomaru alone. Right now, we need to keep all our allies together. That's why Kagome got angry at you for going overboard yesterday."

Pondering for a moment on Iya's words, Inuyasha finally let out a heavy sigh and stood up. Noting he was walking off towards the hot springs, Iya called out "Don't go peeking on them."

"Feh, as if I'm like that damn monk!"

Smirking at the retreating form, Iya returned his gaze to dinner.

--

Reaching the hot springs quickly enough, the girls stripped out of their clothing, each laying them off to the side. Upon doing so, the three wadded into the steaming hot water, with each letting out a contented sighs of relief upon sliding into the water till it reached their shoulders. With each resting up against a rock within the water, the three closed their eyes and enjoyed the warm sensation.

Finally breaking the silence, Lilly asked "Kagome?"

"Yeah Lilly?" Kagome answered.

Biting her lip, Lilly finally asked "Are you and Inuyasha mad still at one another?"

Sighing a bit and looking up at the sky, Kagome slowly replied "I'm a bit mad at him still yet…"

Looking back down at the water, she added "He can be such a jerk sometimes and so inconsiderate of other people's feelings. He could have seriously hurt Shippou yesterday, and bringing up all that stuff today about Sesshomaru wasn't going to help us convince Sesshomaru to help."

"I don't think he was trying to hurt Shippou." Lilly wistfully remarked. "It looked more like he was just throwing him hard enough to get him away from him, not hurt him."

Pondering on Lilly's words, Kagome closed her eyes and replayed the images of Inuyasha tossing Shippou at the tree. In her mind, she saw Shippou's frightened look, but when he hit the tree, it wasn't a hard hit, but a soft blow.

"How could I have missed that!? Inuyasha wasn't trying to really hurt him. Instead of listening to him, I blew up and 'sat' him so many times."

Reopening her eyes, Kagome lightly sighed and mumbled "I think you're right… He didn't really try to hurt Shippou."

Lightly smiling, Orihime added in "And that thing with Sesshomaru yesterday, I bet that's just due that he felt slighted by Sesshomaru saying he held no grudges. You know he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize this mission to save everyone."

"I guess…" Kagome muttered. Leaning back her head till it rested against a rock, she heavily sighed. "Inuyasha…"

Standing up, Lilly waded over to Kagome and put a warm hand on her shoulder, making Kagome open her eyes. Lightly smiling at her, Lilly asked "Would you like some time to think?"

"Yes, if you guys don't mind."

Nodding, Lilly lightly said "We don't. Just don't take too long, ok?"

"Right."

Nodding at Kagome, the two girls slowly waded towards the end where their clothes and towels laid. Getting out of the water, steam rose up from their skin from where the water still was. Toweling off, both redressed and smirked at one another before walking off towards camp.

--

With light steps, Inuyasha continued to track the three girls trail. They had headed for the hot spring, which wasn't hard to find. The smell of sulfur itself was easy to follow, but he was trying to keep from being detected.

Stopping suddenly, his ears swiveled when he heard two voices. Taking in their scents, he determined both where Lilly and Orihime. Masking his own scent, he leapt into the trees to hide. Soon enough, the two passed while chatting busily amongst themselves. Watching them while they walked away, he swore he noticed Lilly have a smirk while glancing back towards where he sat in the tree, but he ignored it.

With the two gone finally, he cautiously leapt from tree to tree towards the hot springs. He quickly arrived with the vision of the hot springs coming into sight, but realized instantly that Kagome was still in it. Cheeks reddening, he turned his back to the hot spring and sat down in the branch of a tree.

Sniffing the air, he inhaled Kagome's scent of vanilla and cherry blossoms. Sighing lightly, he closed his eyes and began concentrating heavily on her scent. It was her scent that always helped him calm down at times. He had admitted to her once when he became human in front of her the first time that he actually enjoyed her scent. Since then, he kept that information private, but still, he couldn't help but remember her reaction to his words. She had been surprised, especially since he had told her numerous times he couldn't stand her scent.

"Feh, I was such a fool. I told her I hated her scent, but the truth was, I came to love that lovely scent of vanilla and cherry blossoms. Kikyo never smelled like that. She always had a strange scent about her, one of fresh cut wild flowers, but nothing I craved constantly."

Lightly chuckling in his mind, he remembered comparing the two scents before. "I always liked flowers, but Kikyo's scent never done a thing to me like Kagome's has. Kagome's scent always grabs my attention, and it seems to soothe and calm me, no matter what mood I'm in."

Sighing softly, he opened his eyes and swiveled his ears towards the hot spring, finding that he heard the sound of sloshing water. Sniffing the air once more, he found her enticing scent once more and closed his eyes, seemingly focusing alone on it.

"She must be about done."

Continuing to rest against the tree, he continued his listening in her direction. Finally, he heard her steps walking towards him. When she was not far, about ten feet away, he heard her stop and inhale the air.

Looking up towards one of the trees, Kagome lightly smiled and softly said "Inuyasha, I know you're up there."

Hearing his name, Inuyasha leapt out of the tree and landed ten feet away. Looking at her, he noted how her damp hair clung to her neck, and how breathtaking she looked just standing there. Grabbing hold of his mind, he softly smiled at her.

Staring at him with a puzzled look, she asked "Why are you here Inuyasha?"

Glancing down at the ground, he bit his lower lip. "Damn pride... I want to apologize, but I can't..."

Noting his look, she softly sighed and walked towards him. Reaching him, she embraced him, shocking him completely. Looking down, he saw her laying her head on his chest with closed eyes.

"Kagome?"

"I'm not mad anymore, and I'm sorry." she apologized lowly, somewhat making Inuyasha glance at her in shock. "I should have realized that you weren't trying to hurt Shippou, and that you were just annoyed by Sesshomaru's comment."

Feeling bad for her having to apologize, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, allowing each to inhale one another's scents. After a moment, he finally said "Kagome, I shouldn't have done that to Shippou. The kit was just annoying me and to get him to stop bugging me, I threw him."

Pulling back so he could look into her dark honey colored orbs, he hesitated for a moment but finally said "It was my fault. I didn't think I really hurt him though…"

Putting a finger to his lips, Kagome softly smiled and replied "It's alright Inuyasha. I thought back on what happened and realized he wasn't that hurt, or hurt at all. Probably more shocked than anything. It's alright."

Removing her finger carefully with a free hand, he quietly mumbled "And about Sesshomaru… I should have let it be."

Knowing how hard it was for him to say that, Kagome laid her head on his chest and lightly mumbled "It's alright. I'm sorry for treating you so roughly."

Placing his head on top of hers, he sighed. "Kagome..."

The two stood in the pale moonlight holding one another for a few more minutes before separating. Each had blush on their faces, but tried to push it away. Smiling at Inuyasha, Kagome took him by the hand and began pulling him back towards camp.

Walking together in silence, the pair walked hand in hand towards the camp, each showing a light blush staining their cheeks.

--

The group had been traveling since leaving Iya's group nonstop. It was now dark, and Sesshomaru had yet to show signs of planning on stopping. Miroku had first asked to stop, but Sesshomaru had ignored him. Sango asked next, but again the same reaction was given. Kohaku had remained quiet, although he was tired as well. Ryo had next asked, out of concern for the half demons, only to get a death glare from Sesshomaru, making him quiet himself.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I'm getting tired, can we stop for the night?" Rin asked softly.

Immediately, Sesshomaru's pace slowed to a stop, with most of the group in complete shock. Watching Sesshomaru turn to them, almost the entire group all fell to the ground out of exhaustion, with the half demons panting heavily.

"We shall make camp for tonight and move on tomorrow." Sesshomaru informed. Turning his gaze to Rin, who was not out of breath, he softly said "Rin…"

"Yes Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked tentatively.

Motioning away from the group, he said "Come."

Acknowledging him with a nod, Rin followed him into the woods, leaving the group behind to rest.

"Damn that Sesshomaru, he'll run you guys to death." Ryo grumbled lowly. "Why the hell Iya let him lead I'll never know!"

Panting lightly, Miroku took calming breaths and replied "I don't know. I figure due that Iya thought he could get the job done."

"He might be able to, but he'll kill the four of you at the same time!" Ryo snarled with passion behind his words. "I should kick his ass for letting this happen!"

"It's alright." Kohaku mumbled between pants. Calming, he added "I'm used to Lord Sesshomaru's treatment. He means well by making us run for so long."

Smirking, Miroku slyly said "At least Rin can get us breaks. Note anything she asks for, he does it."

"She's lucky he listens to her." Sango remarked. "If not for her, we'd have passed out long before we stopped."

The entire group heavily sighed at this, excluding Shippou, who had fallen asleep in Sango's arms. Gently, she laid him on the ground in a blanket Kagome had given for him.

Glaring off in the direction of where Sesshomaru had walked off, Ryo roared loudly "THIS SUCKS!"