Disclaimer : I do not own InuYasha. I wish I did *drool* : ) InuYasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, who is a living goddess for creating such wonderful characters and letting us use them for our own twisted ideas



Authors' Notes :

1-So many reviews. I'm touched guys, really. And the fact that you like it is just amazing. Thank you all so much, and please, keep reviewing. Keep telling me what you think.

2 - Okay, InuYasha is starting to show how much he cares about Kagome (now that he finally woke his sorry hanyou butt up to the fact that he DOES care about her.) As I said before, I'm hoping you think I did this in a convincing manner in line with how InuYasha would come about these self revelations. I like to think of it as he's finally growing into a new maturity. I realize this is probably Massive OOC, but it is a fanfic, so bear with me.

3- For those of you requesting more earnestly, don't worry, there is much more to come. I'm currently up to about 8 chapters on paper...which translates into about 16 chapters here. But... I'm stuck at the moment. Don't worry, there won't be a pause in my posting...I have enough stuff already written to give me some time before I have to start fending off rotten fruit. I post Sunday Night/Monday Morning and Wednesday Night/ Thursday Morning. So, those are the days to check. In between...review, review, review. Your reviews are my inspiration and give me the urge to sit down and write - so please, keep reviewing : )



Last Time :

Pulling her sleeping bag from the corner, she unzipped it and draped it over InuYasha's inert form gently, then slid under it and cuddled up next to him. 'Don't get to used to this,' she reminded herself. 'Last night was probably just due to what happened and his being human. He'll probably kick you out the moment he wakes up and knows you're beside him.' She couldn't help wishing that last night's revelations would stand the light of day, however. Cradling his hand gently in hers, she studied his face as her eyes slowly drifted closed. 'He looks . . . so innocent . . .' was her last conscious though, her other hand resting gently against his ribs.



Chapter 3 - Banishing the Shadows Part 1B



A scent was calling him . . . teasing him awake. There was blood . . . so familiar . . . his blood . . . but not only his, also . . . "Kagome!" he whispered, his eyes opening suddenly. He remembered making it as far as the well . . . and then he'd collapsed. Were they still . . . no. There was wood under him, not grass and dirt, so he figured he was back in the village. But where was Kagome? Had they found her as well? He started to rise, stopping with a hiss of pain as the healing wound on his back stretched.

Movement by his side, underneath the cover draped over him, attracted his attention. 'Why the hell is that damn kitsune . . .' he thought, lifting the blanket to oust the brat and get information out of him. He stopped as he spied raven wing hair. "Kagome!" he breathed, stunned. 'She . . . slept . . . next to me? With me?!' He carefully shifted on his side and edged down so her head was even with his chest so he could look at her. He steadfastly ignored the twinges of pain from his back, telling him he was moving to much for his own good.

Kagome shifted slightly and moaned in her sleep, her face sad. "No . . . don't . . . please . . . not InuYasha . . ." she moaned. Impulsively, he reached out and gathered her carefully against him, her head resting against his chest, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist. She quieted almost immediately, snuggling closer to him. He moved slightly to pull the cover up closer around them, gently tucking it behind her. He settled back, resting his chin on the top of her head. He breathed in her scent, glad that the night of the new moon was over and his youkai blood was back in full effect.

'I could have lost her last night,' he thought to himself. Unconsciously, his grip on the her tightened, taking comfort in the feel of her body against his own. 'But she's here, alive . . . near me, where I can keep her safe. That was too close though.' He growled low in his chest, remembering the filthy human's hands touching her . . . him kissing her . . . him hitting her. 'How do I protect her from those memories?' he wondered, trying to hold in the rage and jealousy those images evoked in him. Kagome meant more to him than life itself . . . the events of last night had shown him that much, at least. But, what was he supposed to do about that new found revelation? They were from such a different times, practically different worlds. Once Naraku was defeated, she would inevitably return to her time . . . leaving him behind. And they'd never even really discussed what he was going to do with the completed Shikon No Tama.

InuYasha sighed, nuzzling Kagome gently. Last night had brought up a lot of complications in an already over complicated relationship. 'And I'm really not good at relationships . . . that much we do know.' He thought back on all the shouting matches . . . the issues with Kikyo . . . his original difficulty in distinguishing between her and Kagome being the most obvious. He hissed as his back twinged again. 'I've made such a mess of things so far . . .' He sighed, breathing in Kagome's scent as his mind calmed. 'Well, whatever happens between us now, there is no sense to my worrying about it right this moment.' He settled Kagome closer to him, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his, her breath puffing gently against the bare skin of his chest. 'I love you Kagome. Even if I can't say the words to you yet, at least I can admit it to myself now.' Slowly he drifted back into sleep, relaxed for the first time in his life by the closeness of the young woman he held in his arms.



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Shippo snuck into the hut around noon to check on the sleeping couple. He nearly tripped over his own jaw at the sight that met his eyes - InuYasha, sound asleep, holding tightly to a sleeping Kagome.

He started to back slowly out the door, and bumped into Miroku's legs. "Uh . . . hi Miroku," he whispered.

"Hello Shippo," the houshi whispered in return. "What are you doing in here?"

The young kitsune blushed. "I . . . uh . . . I thought Kagome might be lonely sleeping in here all by herself . . ." he trailed off, embarrassed.

"It's okay Shippo. You usually sleep with her." Miroku grinned, ruffling the young youkai's hair gently. "It appears, however, that InuYasha has taken care of that this time." He approached the sleeping couple carefully, waiting for the ever alert hanyou to wake to his presence. He was astonished when InuYasha did nothing more than open his eyes long enough to affirm who it was, and then appeared to go right back to sleep, cradling Kagome against his chest. 'Well,' he thought, ' it appears more than one relationship changed last night.' He carefully checked the bandage across the hanyou's back. There were a few spot of blood, probably due to his shifting onto his side, but he didn't think it was anything to be concerned over.

Miroku moved to check on Kagome, and was startled when InuYasha's hand grabbed his wrist as he attempted to move the blanket.

"Let her be, priest. She's fine. Her heartbeat is steady and she's sleeping peacefully now," InuYasha growled softly, his amber eyes still closed.

"I need to check the bandages on her wrists, InuYasha. They were torn up pretty badly. We need to be sure they don't get infected." InuYasha sighed and shifted slightly, releasing his wrist to pull Kagome's arm gently out from in between them and draping it over his shoulder for Miroku to examine.

"I don't smell any infection starting, but check anyway. Just don't wake her," he whispered. Miroku checked the bandage carefully, then handed her arm back to InuYasha, who quietly tucked it back where it had been. Not hearing Miroku leave, he opened his eyes to find the priest watching him thoughtfully. "What's on your mind, Miroku?" he sighed.

The priest nearly fell over in shock. InuYasha . . . was actually opening a conversation with him?! He shook himself, looking into the hanyou's golden-amber eyes. "You've changed, InuYasha," he whispered. He watched as InuYasha closed his eyes and sighed, his ears twitching back and forth rapidly. Finally, after a few moments, he opened them again to look up at Miroku.

"She killed a man last night . . . to protect me," he whispered. "Kagome, who's never really killed anything, did so because I was in danger." He sighed, shifting slightly to press the sleeping girl nearer to him, burying his face in her hair for a second. "I thought I was going to lose her last night, Miroku. Either to those filthy humans . . . or by death. It was a . . . sobering experience. I know we've been faced with this situation before . . . but never like that. It made me really think for once."

"And what about Kikyo, InuYasha? She's been an obstacle between you and Kagome since that old witch brought her back to life. Have your feelings changed towards her?" Miroku watched as InuYasha winced and closed his eyes again, his ears flattening to his skull.

"I still feel responsible for her death . . . but, in the end I think we were both just . . ." he sighed. "I don't know. I think we were both just so alone that we reached out to each other. . . but we never fully trusted each other. That, in the end, is what Naraku used against us. He was right about that at least. I still have feelings for her . . . I probably always will. But those feelings are nothing compared to what I feel for Kagome. Kikyo wanted me to become human, as if what I am is just some curable disease she could overlook . . . Kagome accepts me as I am . . . at least, she's never asked me to be anything different." He hugged her a bit tighter, careful not to wake her.

Miroku tried not to allow InuYasha to see how much this candid heart to heart shocked him. 'Last night really DID make him think!" he found himself musing.

InuYasha smiled slightly to himself as he watched Miroku's ill concealed shock. Yes, last night really had changed him, but in a good way. He only hoped he could be as candid with Kagome when they finally got a chance to talk. They had a lot of things to discuss . . . and his tongue usually seemed to fail him somehow whenever he talked to her. That, or his mind just shut down on him entirely. Kagome just had that kind of effect on him. Of course, it helped that Sango, Kaede, and Shippo were all eavesdropping outside. His grin widened, and he quickly hid his face in Kagome's hair. They didn't think anyone knew they were there, and they really WERE trying to be quiet, but he could smell and hear them easily enough. Miroku, however, was totally oblivious. InuYasha suddenly decided that he didn't feel like being the only male in the group with a lot on his mind. He decided to give his friends - something else he'd realized recently, they WERE his friends - a hand with their own . . . love life problems.

"Miroku . . ." he said, attempting to choose his words carefully, "Did you ever consider Sango in a way beyond that of a possible mother of your son?" He could practically FEEL Sango stiffen in interest, and he was gratified to see the priest actually blush.

"InuYasha . . .I couldn't ask ANY woman, especially Sango, to get involved with me emotionally. Who knows if I'll even live long enough for us to get a chance at Naraku? The Wind Tunnel slowly grows larger . . . how could I ask Sango to tie herself to me when I may not have more than a month . . . perhaps a year, if I'm lucky? Sango has lost enough people she cares about, ti would not be right for me to add to that list." Miroku sighed, playing with the prayer beads wrapped around his cursed hand absently.

"Not that I am one to be giving out advice, Miroku . . . but none of us know how long we will live, or even if we will defeat Naraku. So . . ." he shrugged slightly, wincing in pain as he shifted the wound on his back again. "Damn . . . I keep forgetting about that. Well, as I was saying . . . with that in mind, could it really hurt to tell Sango how you feel?"

Miroku nodded slightly. "You've given me much to think about. Now then, you need to rest some more." He stood slowly, his staff jingling slightly. InuYasha grinned as he heard the scuffling outside as the eavesdroppers scrambled to get away. "Thank you InuYasha. And . . . welcome back to the land of the living."

InuYasha settled back down with Kagome, tugging the blanket gently back up around them and cradling her tightly to him. He'd told Miroku nothing but the truth. Faced with the events of last night, he's done a lot of thinking and changing. He was still constantly amazed that Kagome hadn't "sat" him into oblivion or refused to come back yet.

For now, however, he needed to get back on his feet, which meant resting . . . although he didn't mind that so much this time. As long as Kagome was nearby . . . his eyes slowly drifted closed, and he dozed lightly.

To Be Continued



AN: I'm actually gonna post a bit after this one . . . Don't know why really . . think it's all you reviewer's begging me for more : ) So, keep reviewing and telling me what you think. I get so giddy when I read new reviews from people telling me they love my story. Flames will be dealt with as well, I guess . . . but good reviews really are the greatest drug in the world.