The Inu No Taisho, despite his massive size, was surprisingly very fast. His large body did not hinder his movements, instead, it made him even more swift and dangerous. Kagome's body shook as her fingers remained frozen, clutching onto the silky fur. The fact that they had stopped did not register on her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and so she was taken aback when she was suddenly assaulted by another wave of strong youki. In a matter of seconds, she was held firmly by a pair of strong arms. She opened her eyes and blinked at the familiar face which did not look a little smug.

He really was handsome. He was not pretty like Seshomaru, nor boyish like Inuyasha. Instead, he was rugged, masculine and his close proximity was making her face turn red. She pushed at his chest, only for him to frown, "Do you wish to stand?"

"Yes, please."

Kagome wished she knew how to behave around him. She could not subdue him like Inuyasha. She had no control over him whatsoever and the fact that he was a wild card was a little daunting. He helped her stand but her legs were so weak after the rough ride that they gave way and she grabbed onto him to steady herself.

"You are unwell," Touga stated.

"I'm fine. A little dizzy, that's all." She gathered her wits and stood on her two legs. Inuyasha jumped onto the ground, a few feet away from where she stood.

"Where's the bag, Kagome?"

Kagome blinked, "You're the one with the nose. Sniff it out."

"Inuyasha growled, "I'm not a damn dog!"

The young girl smiled cheerfully, "You didn't have a problem sniffing out all that ramen the other day."

"I was hungry, you bitch!"

Before Touga could intervene, Kagome pushed at Inuyasha's shoulder, in an annoyed gesture, "You didn't have to finish the whole supply, you - you dumb dog! Nobody is THAT hungry! You weren't hungry! You're greedy!"

Inuyasha spluttered, ,"Well, you're a bitch!"

Kagome scowled, "Your face is a bitch!" And then walked away from him, angrily, leaving behind an equally pissed and confused hanyou, "WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?"

"OH, YOU KNOW!"

Touya rolled his eyes. He had a feeling this was never going to stop, no matter how many times he stepped in. One minute they were thick as thieves and the next they were shouting obscenities at each other. He sniffed the air for Kagome's familiar scent and caught a weak trace of it. A little further away, hidden by the bushes was a cold campsite. The fire was out and a large bag lay leaning against a tree, a hideous yellow color.

"Kagome."

A few minutes later, his intended followed and sighed in relief, "Oh thank Kami, it's still there." She opened the bag and rifled through it. A minute later, she extracted a piece of red clothing and rubbed her face against it, purring like a cat.

Touga just watched the proceedings, not a little confused. As she started taking out random strange objects, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Kagome looked up at him, her voice hesitant, "I was going to take a bath."

Touga didn't like the quiver in her voice as if she expected him to say no to her. A little stiff, he nodded, "I will keep guard."

Brightening, when she realized he wasn't going to pose any objections, Kagome gathered her supplies to her chest and rushed towards the nearest waterfall, the one Kaede had shown her.

Inuyasha frowned, "Oi! Where the hell are you going? We still have to look for those damn shards!"

Kagome didn't slow down and just threw threw over her shoulders, "You do recon. I'll join you later!"

"Recon?" He asked his father.

Touga shrugged as he strolled behind the excited Kagome, "We will be back."

Inuyasha hid a smirk as he wondered whether his father would spy on Kagome. She would go ballistic!

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as Kagome tripped over a rock in her excitement, "Dumb bitch."

He studied his sword curiously and then assumed a stance. The sword didn't transform. He waved it in the air. Nothing happened.

"You look absolutely ridiculous."

Inuyasha bared his teeth at his brother who was settled against a branch, languidly.

"What the hell are you doing here, you bastard?"

"Since it is none of your business, I do not have to tell you. Imagine that."

His brother's sardonic words made Inuyasha grit his teeth, "How long have you been following us?"

His brother gave a pointed look, "Father noted my presence. If he did not question me, what makes you think you have the right, half breed."

Inuyasha flexed his hand on the sword, wanting nothing more than to go rip the bastard in half. But his father's reaction had him stilling.

"Don't act all high and mighty. You piss your pants every time you see the old man."

Seshomaru scowled. Jumping off the branch, he landed deftly onto his feet, "I will surpass our sire, Inuyasha. Make no mistake of that."

He turned on his heel and walked away. Inuyasha thought about stabbing him in the back with the rusty sword but he hadn't yet been able to make the sword transform and if it broke before he could even learn how to use it, that would be a pretty dumb move.

Meanwhile, Kagome had put on her one piece bathing suit and she dived into the water. The cold water felt so good against her skin that when she finally came up for air, she laughed, delighted. Ah, to be clean again. Feeling something rub against her, she squeaked in alarm onto to see small goldfish swimming around.

Grinning, she tried to catch them, only to have them slip through her fingers. Finally, she stretched, feeling the war rays of sun heating her body while her lower half was still submerged in cold water, and murmured, "This feels so nice."

As she bent down, she caught a reflection in the water, and glanced up sharply. Touga was watching her, a curious expression on his face. She froze for a second till her brain caught up with what she was seeing and she let out a blood curling scream before dunking herself in the water.

That was apparently a mistake because within a split second, she was in his arms, half naked.

"What is wrong?"

Kagome and seeing Inuyasha from the corner of her eye, she yelled his name, half angry, half scared, "Help me!"

Inuyasha scowled and rushed towards his father, knocking him away. His father's eyes tinged red and he backhanded his son. But Inuyasha had learnt from the first time. As he was thrown across the water, he grabbed the first rock he hit and used it to steady himself, rocketing back towards a screaming Kagome, his sword in his hand, transformed.

However, before he could reach her, Touga roared loudly, "Stop this incessant shrieking!"

His voice held enough authority and power to scare Kagome into silence. It was also enough to make Kagome's hands spark pink, something which only Touga noticed.

He released Kagome who staggered back and then dunked into the water to cover herself. Shaking, she pointed a finger at him, "Y-You stay away from me, you hear! You're a pervert! Don't you dare come near me or I'll - I'll"

She looked around desperately for something to threaten him with.

Touga scowled, offended, "I am not a pervert. Watch your tongue, woman. I came to you because you screamed."

"I screamed because you were peeping on me!"

"I was merely studying the strange garment you had adorned. And you are my mate. I have every right to see your body as you do mine."

If Kagome's face had been red with anger before, now it started resembling a tomato with embarrassment.

"I - That is -"

Inuyasha blinked as he remembered something. He started slowly, frowning, "Oi, wench when I saw you -" Kagome did not let him finish as she cried in horror, "My clothes!"

Both Inuyoukai turned to watch Kagome's bundle of clothes fly into the air into the nearby bushes. Inuyasha darted after them, his sensitive ears twitching as he heard something.

Touga watched his son make after the thief and raised a brow at Kagome who refused to meet his eyes, biting her lip. He waited for an apology till he noticed that she had started to shiver. He was about to pick her up and then recalled her rather extreme reaction to his previous attempt. He looked at her hand and making a split second decision, he grabbed her hand, frowning when he realized how cold it was. Dragging her to the bank, he took off his outer clothing and flung it over her petite form.

She was startled, he could tell and as much as he wanted to shake her, he tugged the haroi tighter, to keep her warm and murmured, "I am your mate. You have time to come to terms to the fact but I will not have you accuse me of the unspeakable. I have done nothing but protect you so far."

With that he walked towards where his son had gone, his sensed attuned to his tiny mate behind him.

Kagome watched him leave and felt ashamed. But she couldn't help it. When Inuyasha had once come across her in this bathing suit, she hadn't really been angry. After all, this was swimwear. But something in her had clicked off when she had seen the mysterious male who had thrown himself in her life.

She had seen something aside from curiosity in that piercing amber gaze and it had shaken something inside of her. She was not ready for that sort of darkness. For a moment as she watched him walk further away, she contemplated making a run for it. If she could just go home and somehow seal the well, this whole mess would go away. He kept saying she was his mate. What did that even mean? Did he expect her to sleep with him? She disregarded the thought as soon as it entered her head. He hadn't been inappropriate with her aside from the whole 'Your body belongs to me' statement. He wouldn't force her.

She swallowed.

Would he?

Touga scented the fear coming from his mate and it was hers but why? He turned around to watch her just stare at him, scared. Her body was shivering worse than it had before. He moved faster than she could blink and he was before her.

Had his actions scared her?

His voice was lower, gentle as he probed, "What do you fear, Kagome?"

When she flinched as he raised a hand to brush her hair away from her face, he was not offended, but curious.

"You fear me?"

It upset him, it tore at him but now was not the time to show how her actions affected him. Something he had done had terrified his mate and at his question, she looked up at him, those eyes holding an awareness and terror.

"Kagome," Now he frowned. "I am your protector first, your mate second. How can I court you when I cannot even protect you?"

His words struck a chord inside her. She mustered up the courage and asked him the question which had her insides quivering with panic.

"You say I'm your mate but do I get a choice?"

She found herself unable to voice her actual question but he seemed to understand part of it and he took her hands and held them together, his tone serious, "I am an inuyoukai, Kagome. You have been destined for me since two thousand years. Your instincts will drive you towards me but yes, I will court you in our way. And anything that happens will happen with your consent. "

When the tension drove out of her body with that statement, he nuzzled her face, tenderly, "I will never hurt you. You have my word."

Kagome's body shook violently and she collapsed into him, "I'm sorry."

He let her lean against him, letting her calm herself down. Why hadn't it occurred to him that she would harbor such fears? He frowned and touched her hair lightly.

She pulled away from him, rubbing her eyes. Sniffing, she mumbled, "Don't tell Inuyasha I cried. He will never let me live it down."

And with that things were back to normal. Or maybe more so. Because as they started walking, she gave him a small smile and walked by his side, not behind him.

A.N: What? You thought I ditched you? Hahahaha. I didn't. I was here. Somewhere. I was stuck in this chapter and I finally managed to get the flow back on. I hope you enjoy.