Here is chapter 8! I'm loving the reviews I've gotten. And to answer a reviewer's question… Yes, the exact situation between Inuyasha and Kikyo will be mentioned to Link! Now when exactly… You'll eventually find out!

I own nothing!

Chapter 8: Confusion

Inuyasha growled but followed Link out of the room. Sango and Kagome had heard the yelling and when they were coming out, they saw both of them walking out. Kagome tried stopping Link but Midna shook her head and disappeared on his shadow. Kagome was confused and both her and Sango turned to Miroku for answers.

"Inuyasha started questioning Link's sword claiming that it wasn't going to be enough against Zant and basically questioned his skills. Link then told Inuyasha to follow him. They're most likely going to duel this outside."

Sango gasped as she heard the doors slamming shut informing them that they had left the inn.

"We have to follow them!" Kagome exclaimed as she started rushing out, with the other two following right after.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Midna asked from within his shadow.

Link grunted, but didn't reply. He had been patient with the half demon but once questioning his fighting abilities had been a breaking point for him. All this time he's fought hard to save his friends, to help his land, to keep himself alive. He knew that he had been a scared farm boy, trying to figure out what was going on with the world, trying to find himself. Now he knows he did. He had been Chosen by the Goddesses to help Hyrule's time of despair. The whole time he had trained, perfecting his killing techniques with the monsters, trying to figure out the fastest and the most effective way to kill them. The sleepless nights he would have, he would spend them training.

He wasn't going to let someone else question his abilities anymore.

One thing was to listen to Midna's teasing but another is hearing someone else criticizing him. He didn't know what kind of skills Inuyasha had, but by this point it didn't matter to him. He suppressed a growl as he continued through the streets of Castle Town and made his way to Castle Town's southern entrance.

The sun was setting and Link continued forward down the steps to the clear area. He then turned to Inuyasha and pointed at his sword.

"First to draw blood wins."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at him and growled. Without a second thought, he retrieved tetsusaiga, the fang transforming to its true form right before Link's eyes.

Link wouldn't admit it in the moment, but he was impressed since now the sword looked nothing like the old and beat up katana he saw always on Inuyasha's side. He felt the presence of the others on the steps but paid no attention to them. He walked on the other side of the green field of Castle Town's southern entrance and unsheathed his sword. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds until Link nodded.

Without waiting a second longer, they started.

Kagome was nervous but at the same time impressed as she looked at the battle in front of her. She wasn't sure what kind of metal Link's sword was made out of, but it was fairing quite well against Inuyasha's powerful fang. She's seen both of her friends in action before. She had been with Inuyasha for two years already and he has improved on his moves. However he was still just brutal strength, attack before thinking, and it was becoming obvious as she was watching him right now.

Inuyasha had jumped and raised his sword and came down on Link. Link used his Hylian shield to block the attack and swung his sword, barely missing Inuyasha's abdomen by a couple of inches. From there, the echoing of their swords was the only thing that could be heard as the sun started to set.

Neither adversary was giving up as they continued to battle. Link would move and jump out of the way at Inuyasha's brashness of his attacks.

If he actually trained more on his skills and not just brute force, he would be an extremely dangerous opponent, Link silently thought as he blocked another attack with his shield.

A couple of times, a kick or a punch had been thrown into the mix, however neither of them had drawn the first blood yet.

Inuyasha was becoming impatient. He felt that they had been fighting for hours but it was just a couple of minutes. He hadn't expected for Link to actually be fast and using both sword and shield to cover himself. They had been moving around all over the place as they continued to battle.

Slash. Block.

A couple of times Link was about to win, however thanks to Inuyasha's speed, he would move out of the way in the last second from it.

In one of the attacks, both of them had jumped in the air, landed in the ground, and clashed their swords against one another. From there on, it was all about their strength. Link pushed with all his might and Inuyasha did the same.

"I can't believe it! They're matching in strength!" Miroku exclaimed from their hidden spot since they wanted to avoid being caught on the battle.

Link saw his opening and with one final push he made Inuyasha wide open, he then landed a kick on him sending him flying a couple feet back. He then jumped in the air again and was going to perform the Ending Blow (He wasn't going to kill him, just land right next to him so he could cut him) when Inuyasha let out an angry growl and surprisingly moved out of the way.

Link's sword dug deep into the ground and glared at Inuyasha.

"I've had enough of this!" Inuyasha yelled. He positioned the fang in front of him and glared at Link.

The others' eyes widened as they saw what Inuyasha was going to try to do.

"Inuyasha don't do it!" Sango yelled at him.

He ignored her, and with a powerful slice, he screamed.

"WIND SCAR!"

Link's eyes widened as he saw the powerful attack going straight to him. He wasn't sure how powerful the Hylian shield was, but he had no other options since it was too late to run away. With an angry growl, he raised his shield just in time as the attack hit him. He could hear the howling of the wind as it pushed him. He heard the metal of his shield groan in complaint as Link tried to muster all of his strength to continue to hold his shield up but he could already feel his strength leaving him at a fast space. Just when the attack was lessening, Link was finally pushed backwards making him move the shield and the last of the attack getting him.

There was smoke everywhere as the other three rushed to where Link had been. They had been astonished to see that his shield was able to withstand most of the wind scar but it hadn't been enough.

Inuyasha finally realized what he had done and also rushed to where the hylian had been.

"I can't believe you used it Inuyasha! It was supposed to be just a sword fight!" Kagome yelled at him while Sango and Miroku helped Link up.

He looked at Kagome and then the ground.

"You could've killed him!"

He glowered, "But I didn't!"

They heard Link coughing from behind them and both turned around. Besides being all dirty and a gash on his cheek, the warrior was fine.

He walked up to Inuyasha and held out his hand, "You won fair and square."

Inuyasha skeptically looked at him, down at his hand, and back at him.

"You're not angry?"

"I'm mad at the fact that I didn't see that coming."

Inuyasha let out a snort and grabbed his hand and shook it.

"You almost had me there."

"I know I did," Link smirked.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "That ain't a puny sword. I thought I was going to break it with my fang but it held well against it."

Kagome had gone with Miroku and Sango, shocked. When she saw the look in their faces, she could tell that they were just as shocked as her. They all thought that Link was going to unleash hell for Inuyasha's Wind Scar that could've killed him. But it seemed that the two of them had formed a new type of respect for one another.

"Just a tip, practice more on your skills. You already have the physical strength, combine it with your mental one, and nothing can get in your way… Except that eventually I want a rematch and you won't be so lucky."

Inuyasha slightly growled. He knew it was true. He had heard it multiple times from his brother that his brute strength with the sword was going to get him killed someday.

Kagome walked up to Link, grabbed his hand, and started pulling him back to the inn in Castle Town. She didn't look at him for a reaction and neither did she look at Inuyasha. The other three stood there, a bit taken aback by Kagome's sudden quiet attitude.

They were in her room, with Link sitting on a chair that Kagome had put in front of the bed. She took out a small box that Renado had given her with some medical supplies for their journey. She took out stuff to clean the wound with and an ointment for it.

She hadn't said a word to him the whole way back to the inn. She had just continued going, a firm hand clasped around his own. She hadn't let go until they had been inside and motioned him to sit down after she had grabbed the chair.

She went out for a few seconds and came back, with a small bowl with hot water, the steam visible on it. She set it on the nightstand that separated her bed and Sango's and with a small cloth, she dipped it in the water, squeezed it, and then started cleaning the gash in Link's cheek.

He let out a hiss at the feel, but she didn't stop. He knew that it was going to most likely scar. He tried focusing on something else instead of the burning feeling on his face, so he stare at her face. Her gray eyes were narrowed, and solemnly focused on his cheek. As he looked closer, he could see her eyes glassier than normal.

"Kagome, are you ok?"

Quiet.

"Are you mad at me?"

Nothing.

He sighed. He grabbed her wrist in order to make her stop clean his wound. She looked at him but then looked down. With his other hand, he lifted up her chin so he could see her face. That's when he saw a silent tear falling down her rosy cheeks.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and whispered, "Why are you crying?"

She looked anywhere but his eyes, "You could've gotten killed."

"It was just a friendly sword fight," if that's what he should call it, "I just didn't expect him to power up how he did. But I'm ok."

She then pointedly looked at his cheek and raised her eyebrow.

He let go of her chin and let out a sigh, "Do you really think he could've killed me?"

"The wind scar is powerful, it can take down a hundred demons in one blow…"

"Kagome, did you not have faith in me and my skills? Yes it caught me off guard, but I was able to defend myself."

"Barely."

As soon as the words fell out of her mouth, she regretted them. Her eyes widened and she put a hand to cover her mouth. Link got up from the chair and started heading out towards the door but she got in front of him.

"Link! Wait, I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Move Kagome," he said firmly.

"No… not until you hear me out!"

"I think I've heard enough."

She shook her head, her stubbornness kicking in.

"Listen to me! I don't think you're weak. It's just that…"

He looked at her waiting for her to finish. When she didn't, he let out a growl.

"Just that what Kagome? You obviously don't think of me that I'm strong enough to withstand Inuyasha's attack. How's that supposed to make me feel? If I can't fully withstand something like that, what is my likeliness of me going against Zant? If I lose against Zant, everything will be lost!"

"It's just that I got scared!" She finally screamed.

He was shocked at her outburst, "What?"

"As soon as I saw the Wind Scar I got scared! I didn't know what was going to happen. I felt useless. I thought I was going to lose you!"

He was silent.

"You're not weak Link. You're one of the strongest that I've ever met. I care about you and I know you can defeat Za-"

She didn't finish what she was trying to say. The sound of her voice had been stopped the moment his lips were on hers.

After a few quiet minutes, Miroku decided to speak up.

"That was a risky move there Inuyasha. You could've seriously injure him."

"Or kill him," Sango added in.

He ran a hand through his his hair and looked at them.

"I panicked, ok?"

They both raised an eyebrow at him. It wasn't like Inuyasha admitting that he had almost lost.

"When I got knocked back, I could feel his aura rising as he was about to land his last attack. I muster all I could to move out of the way and next thing I know, I did the Wind Scar."

"He wasn't going to kill you," Sango said.

"You don't get it! I know he wasn't, but there was something that I felt that my whole body got on edge. I acted out of impulse. I just wanted to fight him to see his skills."

"And what do you think? About his skills?" Miroku asked.

"If Link is able to get a better sword, Zant better be ready for him."

He had no clue what had come over him. One moment he's been treated, then he gets into a fight with Kagome, and the next he's kissing her.

He was going against everything that he had told Midna before they came to Castle Town. He wasn't even sure if he really had started to have feelings for the young priestess, but the way she was explaining to him why she reacted the way she did, his body acted on its own. He felt a powerful warm feeling in his chest as she spoke and then he found himself grabbing her around the waist and planting a fierce kiss on her lips.

Kagome was in pure shock at his actions. All she could feel was his lips on hers, a possessive hand on her waist, and the thundering of her heart.

What do I do? She frantically asked herself.

Kiss him back silly… Her mind replied back.

Before she could do anything, Link pulled back. Apparently she wasn't the only one in shock since his blue eyes went from a deep blue back to its bright shade as he stared at her. They were both breathing heavily as they looked at one another.

She knew she had a furious blush covering her face and she tried opening her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake."

And he hastily left the room, without saying another word.

She stood dumbfounded and confused as he left her. Her hand went to touch her lips. The feeling of his been on her hadn't left her yet. Her heart was almost beating out of her chest as she replayed it over and over again.

"Why am I reacting like this?" She whispered to herself in the silent room.

She almost felt 100% confident that she was in love with Inuyasha, even if he still felt something for Kikyo.

Kikyo…

She knew that she couldn't compete against the beautiful priestess. Regardless if she was dead or not, Inuyasha still had feelings for her. He had his moments that made her believe that just maybe, he was starting to love her as well. Maybe. But whenever she thought that, Kikyo would make an appearance, making the half-demon more confused than ever.

They had shared a kiss once. But it wasn't anything like she had experience with Link just now. With Inuyasha, it was to snap him out of the spell that Kaguya had on him. She didn't know what else to do. And it had worked. And he had kissed her back.

But he never brought it up again and she didn't have the courage to do so.

With Link, she was able to feel the fierceness and the need as he had kissed her. That kiss had sent multiple shots of electricity all over her body. But the moment she remembered what he had said afterwards, made her close her eyes to stop the tears.

I'm sorry, it was a mistake…

I'm I ever going to be good enough? She thought as she felt the tears running down the moment that the bedroom door open and she saw Sango standing there. Without a word, Sango closed the room and Kagome flung herself at her and started sobbing in her chest, like a child. Sango's protectiveness towards Kagome kicked in and gently held the younger girl and comforted her.

It wasn't until the middle of the night that Link finally returned to the inn. Inuyasha and Miroku were surprised that they had not see him in there but didn't pay much attention to it and went to sleep since the following day they would be reaching Lake Hylia.

Link had so much to think about as he walked around Castle Town. When night had fallen, only a few shops were still open and a couple torches had been lit to provide light in the streets. He walked around clueless until he found himself where him and Inuyasha had fought. The ground was covered in gashes, making it obvious to see what the Wind Scar was capable of doing.

He was beating himself up for his actions. He wasn't sure what had come over him. It had been a stupid move on his part.

"I can't believe you told her it was a mistake!" the sudden outburst of his shadow making him jump out of his thoughts.

He gave her an incredulous look, "You saw that?!"

Midna rolled her eye, "Kind of hard not to. I am your shadow after all."

He groaned and covered his face with his hands.

"I don't know what to do," he said, his voice muffled.

"You're such a moron. Stop denying yourself. You have feelings for her."

He finally looked at her, "... No I don't"

"Then what the hell was that!"

"Like I told her. A mistake. I can't do it Midna. There's still so much that we have to do. I have to stay focused!"

"If you keep denying it that's going to be the only thing that is going to screw everything up! I swear all men are the same!"

And with that, she went back to his shadow.

He was confused at her sudden anger with him telling Kagome that the kiss was a mistake. Shouldn't Midna be happy about the fact that he solemnly wants to focus on gathering the last Fused Shadow and defeat Zant?

The imp continued to surprise him and confuse him.

He pulled out his sword and stared at it. It was a strong sword. It had been able to withstand Inuyasha's blows. Rusl had done a wonderful job with it. However, he had a feeling that although it was strong, it might not be able to withstand a strong magical attack from an enemy, like Zant.

The only sword that was ever known to be able to repel magic was the legendary Master Sword. But it had been lost over time.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He needed to have faith in himself.

That was the only way that he would be able to end all of this.

The following morning, the awkwardness and tension could be cut with a knife. Sango, Kagome, and Kirara had made their way to the small restaurant that the inn offered to get some food into their system. Sango had left a note under the guys' room to let them know where they were going to be at since they could hear their snoring outside of the door.

As she glanced at her friend, Sango could see the bags under Kagome's eyes. After the young priestess cried, she finally told Sango what had her in such a state. Sango was shocked beyond belief to find out that their newest friend had made a move on who she saw as her sister. However, she became infuriated when she heard Kagome repeating the word's that Link said after the kiss.

She had tried to convince Kagome that she was a wonderful girl, however it didn't seem that it had worked. Kagome was carrying such a depressing aura around her the moment that she woke up.

They finally started eating when the other three members of the group showed up. She noticed Inuyasha and Miroku looking at Kagome, confused, while Link averted his eyes from her.

They all ate in an awkward silence until Miroku offered them to go and get their things to head out. Link payed the meal and got up and left.

Kagome had avoided Link throughout the whole time and he had done the same. Once he had left, she got up and went to her room leaving the three of them with their thoughts.

"What's up with her?" Inuyasha gruffly asked. He has never liked Kagome in such a mood. It made him moody. He was used to her happy personality, specially in the mornings.

"Why are you always so happy in the mornings? It's kind of annoying," He commented one day that they were packing their things to move on to the next village.

She gave him a radiant smile and she looked at the view in front of her. The sun was rising, giving the woods such a serene and beautiful sight.

"Because it's the promise of a new day Inuyasha..."

So now seeing her in such a state, it was making him worried.

Sango just shook her head, "She'll be fine. She didn't sleep that well."

"Is she still mad at me?"

"No... surprisingly, not."

He knew it was childish for him to not say anything to her. But he didn't know what he could say. After seeing her that morning, he knew that his words had hurt her. What he couldn't understand, was why. Didn't she love the half-demon? If she did, she wouldn't look so sad that day.

The trip to Lake Hylia was awkward and silent.

Inuyasha didn't know how much longer he was going to take for her to say something or smile. He motioned Sango to continue forward and once he felt they were out of earshot, he put Kagome down.

That apparently made her snap out of her daze and she confusedly stare at him.

"Why did we stop?"

He narrowed his eyes at her, "What's wrong with you? I haven't seen you like this since the time that you got the jewel shards stolen from you."

"I'm ok Inuyasha..."

"No you're not."

She turned away, "I just miss Shippo it's all."

He crossed his arms, "Bullshit."

She looked at him again, "I'm not ready to talk about it."

He snorted, "Keh. Fine. Not like I cared anyways."

"Liar," She gave him a small smile, "But thank you."

"I didn't do anything, girl" he teasingly said.

She groaned, "Are you going back to that? I have a name you know."

He rolled his eyes and continued with his teasing, since it was apparently working.

"I know, I know," he waved her off and then did a poor impersonation of her, "I'm Kagome! Ka-go-me!"

She playfully smacked his arm, "I do not sound like that!"

"Pfft. Says you. I'm the one with the sensitive ears."

She laughed.

Finally, he thought.

"Let's go they're waiting for us."

She recognized the place as soon as it came into view. It was the same building when her and Link had landed after that cannon shoot them off in the air. Just the thought of that made her get goosebumps. She could still remember the blast in her head.

As they went inside, they were greeted by a lot more chickens than the last time that her and Link had been there. They reached the doorway and stared down at the lake.

"We are gonna have to fly down to the spirit cave's entrance. There I can hand out the medallions and I can change inside the spring. Then we'll swim to the location of the temple. "

Everyone nodded and headed down. Sango and Miroku were mesmerized by the beauty of the lake. The sun was shining brightly, so the view was breathtaking.

They finally reached the entrance of the cave and Link headed straight inside. Meanwhile, the others prepared themselves to go for a swim.

When Link finally stepped outside, everyone's eyes widened at the sight of him.

The armor that he was wearing was a deep blue. His chest was covered in what looked like scales, in a lighter shade of blue. His whole body was covered by the strong armor, his boots looking more like a combination of boots and fins. He was wearing a helmet as well, and he looked determined.

"Are you guys ready?"

They all nodded.

He reached in his small bag that was on his waist and grabbed the four medallions, with the symbol of the Zoras embedded on it.

They all put them around their neck and stared at it.

"Are we supposed to feel different?" Miroku curiously asked.

"Rutela told us that they would work under water," Kagome informed.

"She's right. The only way we will know is once we are on our way to the temple. Now, let's go."

His voice was firm and authoritative.

"You guys better not get killed down there. The Fused Shadow is important!" Midna said as she appeared.

They all nodded at her, because they knew she was right. It was the last key to finally get to Zant and end this.

"Let's go!"

Or so they thought.

End of Chapter 8! Sorry if it was slightly shorter than what you were expecting. Next Chapter will be longer since I'll be covering Lakebed Temple.

Now as for the fight, I know that some of you were expecting Link to surpass Inuyasha, which he did multiple times, however, there was no way that Link could cut through the Wind Scar with the Ordonian sword. If he would've tried that, the sword would've shattered and he could've possibly died. The best route was Link using his shield, since it's supposed to be extremely durable.

Like Link said, there will be a re match later on.

And the kiss! Yes... he kissed her. Now he's more confused than ever and so is she. Will that affect their mission in the temple? Who knows!

Please review and let me know what you thought!