Kagome's body was beginning to feel the wear that she had forced it through. For hours, she had roamed the dark wilderness without so much as an inkling that her hanyou was living. "InuYasha! InuYasha!" She slumped down at the base of an old tree as the icy, winter wind stung her flesh. "Where are you?" Her voice lost all gratification, sinking to a low, raspy whisper. Hope was dissipating fast, leaving her with a lonely ache in her chest. The one feeling that drove her back to begin with. Emptiness. She was lost without him. Her dark eyes searched her surroundings, doubt finally completely it's capture of her soul. She couldn't focus. She couldn't think. One word terrorized her brain. It was relentless. Refusing to let her give in. The one word...the one name kept her going as she stood, wiping away the warm tears of defeat...InuYasha. "I won't give up on you."

His body was ravaged and aching. His mind was jumbled. Still, he continued to run. Running. It wasn't his style, but now... it was the only choice left to him. Stumbling, he landed hard on scraped hands and knees. "Damn it!" Staggering to his feet, he surveyed his surroundings and the red eyes looming around the trees. Leaving a crimson trail, he fled. "I can't run forever..."

"InuYasha! Please, answer me!" She was pleading now. Begging for a reply. A sign. Anything. 'I can't lose you now!' She thought, leaning heavily against another tree. She wished for the warmth of his embrace. The softness in his voice that he revealed only to her. A smile drifted across her weary features as the memories of his 'split personality' swam in her mind. One minute, she was his best friend. The next, a weak, pathetic wench. The thought was quite funny, although he had gotten sent crashing to the ground most of the time. And that smile. Oh, how she would melt at the carefree, peaceful grin. It was not a common occurrence, but was a wonderful sight. She wanted to see that smile again. She would see that smile again. Determination took over. She had to keep going. Keep searching. As she pulled away from the tree, her delicate fingers drug across a rough area in the bark. "What's this?" The miko leaned in for examination and gave a gasp that could most likely be heard at the Higurashi Shrine itself. "C...claw marks!" The engravings were about a finger's width apart and made a somewhat clumsy arrow. "InuYasha, you're a genius! Hang on just a little longer!"

His head was swimming now. He couldn't go on much longer. He had lost enough blood to easily incapacitate a human. Exhaustion plagued him. Hunger haunted him. Thirst burned at him. All were eventually gaining the upper hand. Running not even being an option any longer, he spun and waited for his attackers. Images of his friends, those who were depending on him, swam eagerly throughout his mind as he clutched the jewel clinging to his neck. The women. The children. Those children. He had become a role model without even his knowledge. Playing tag...hide and go seek...letting them tell him stories. How he had come to adore the village brats. The happy memories were quickly varnished with images of death and injury. His features darkened compulsively as he drew his sword. "I won't let you down!" Raising the sword, transforming it in mid-air, he did the last thing the snarling creatures expected...he attacked.

Kagome froze at that familiar battle cry. "InuYasha!" Her pace increased dramatically, determination evident in every step. She winced as she shoved through the thorny bushes, following the sound of clashing metal. "You're fighting as usual! At least you could've chosen an easier path to follow!" Her tread softened as she peered through the leafy matter to the ongoing scuffle. "InuYasha..." Straightening in preparation to join her comrade, her eyes fell upon one of the monsters aiming an arrow straight at the reeling hanyou. Everything seemed to go into slow motion as the arrow was set on it's path. As the weapon zipped toward an unaware InuYasha, Miroku's words echoed:

Their arrows were poison. It killed within minutes...'

She couldn't move. She felt powerless in that instant. The last thing she would ever think of became her only option. "InuYasha, sit!"

"Kag..." The hanyou plummeted to the ground, the arrow barely evading his shoulder and piercing one of it's own. Her legs becoming mobile, Kagome raced from the darkened area, bow and arrow ready for defense. InuYasha pulled himself up to all fours, shaking his head to sort out what had just occurred. "How the hell?" He breathed, unaware of the beast above him ready to claim his head. Without a sound, Kagome released an arrow straight into it's heart, collapsing it on contact. "What the..." InuYasha's head snapped up as the demon convulsed on the ground, crumbling under Kagome's miko magic. His eyes set upon yet another demon swiftly bringing a spiked sword to his skull. Covering his head with his arms, InuYasha awaited the final blow. It never came. To his astonishment, the creatures were backing away into the pitch black encoding of their surroundings, bowing ever so slightly in their retreat. There he sat, mouth gaping, for several minutes. "Now I know I missed somethin'."

"Yeah, you did."

'That voice...'

"InuYasha, are you alright?" Kagome rushed to kneel at his side, a look of bewilderment firmly plastered onto his face. "InuYasha, please, say something! Believe me, it's never good when you don't talk." His body swayed as he positioned himself on his knees. "InuYasha!"

"Did...did you...just 'sit' me?" His words were like music to her ears. Not exactly what she expected after a five year absence, but good enough. He collapsed to the side, landing on his hands, snapping the smile from her face.

"InuYasha...InuYasha!" Her cries of worry and frustration fell upon deaf ears as he toppled to the ground, unconscious on impact. "InuYasha, now's not the time to do this! Get up...get up!" Her shaking and shouts did little to revive the hanyou, earning only an uncomfortable moan. Keeping her hands on his shoulders, Kagome searched the darkness around them at the whispers and hisses, signaling the creatures were still near. 'Why did they back off?' Pushing InuYasha onto his back, she snapped the chain from around his neck. "Is this what you want!" Kagome held the jewel idly above her head. "Come and get it! Just leave him alone!" No movement. No response. The indecisive noises had ceased. 'Why didn't they attack? Something's not right.'

"Miroku, she's been gone for hours. Shouldn't we..."

"Yes, we should, but we can't. Lady Sango, we cannot risk anymore lives. I am inclined to go after her as well, but Kagome knew what she was up against. We must have faith." Sango nodded and shifted her gaze back to the forest.

'Be safe, my friends.'

His ears twitched vigorously as the sounds of the forest flooded his hearing. He was completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. Time had been lost, leaving him clueless of how long his eyes had been closed. As reality began to sink in, so did the pain. He felt like he had been thrown from the highest, rockiest cliff only to hit bottom five times over. With an involuntary shiver, his eyes snapped open, burning and watering. 'What the hell happened? Where...where am I?' His head bobbing slightly from his lack of strength to hold it, his fluttering eyes took in the scenes around him. A fire. A small bag. A bowl of blood tinged water. A small rag with different metal devices on it. A bow and quiver. And a sword. Looking weakly from under his bangs, his vision drifted in and out of clarity as a small figure approached him. His broken nose unable to pick up the scent, he pushed back against the tree in a failed attempt to move away. He opened his mouth to expel a warning, only a rasping breath coursing his throat.

"Hey, calm down."

'It can't be...'

"It's me, InuYasha...it's Kagome."

'But how? No! No, it's a trick!'

The young woman placed a warm hand on his cold, clammy shoulder, hoping her touch would be enough to settle him. It worked. The hanyou immediately relaxed, letting his head fall back to rest against the tree.

"You're gonna be okay. The wounds were deep, but nothing a few stitches and sutures can't handle. Now, there's just worrying about infection. You have been out here for over a week, unable to heal the way you usually do..." InuYasha blinked fiercely a few times, making sure his brain wasn't suffering from exertion. Focusing on the image in front of him, his ears blocked out her insatiable rambling. "It took quite a few stitches actually. You're lucky you leg wasn't..."

"Kagome!" His voice was weak and cracking, only mustering a whisper as he pushed from the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as his arms found their way around her small frame.

"...cut...off..." Her heart quivered at his labored, rattling breaths against the skin of her neck. "InuYasha, you need to..."

"Kagome," Only a whisper, but enough to make her shiver. "I...I thought...I'd never...see you again."

Mastering the best smile she could through the desperate tears that threatened, she pushed him back gently, apply the slightest bit of pressure to his shoulders. "Well, that's what you get for thinking. Now, lay back down." Unavoidably groaning, the hanyou obeyed. "We should be safe here. The creatures left...though I don't have a clue as to why." She reached for his wrist and closed her eyes in concentration. The hanyou watched her silently count, confusing him even more than he already was.

"W...what the hell are...you doing?"

"I'm checking your pulse." She answered quickly, opening her eyes for only a fraction of a second before returning to her silent counting.

"What the hell for?"

She pursed her lips at his ignorant question, letting his hand fall onto his stomach. "You're exhausted, dehydrated, and half starved, you idiot! You need to be watched!"

Smiling lazily at her false anger, he shifted painfully against the tree to get comfortable. "Right...I almost forgot why I missed you." A grin crept across her face as his golden orbs were hidden by a pair of weary, dropping lids.

"Are you hungry? I've got some..." She sighed in defeat as his chest rose in a deep breath, followed by a stream of incoherent mumbling. "...ramen." She sat back off her knees and watched him sleep. Although he was probably in a great deal of pain, slumber was what he needed. Peacefulness was not something she saw this time in his sleeping face. His features reflected of agony, his brow furrowing every few seconds. Still...through the cuts and bruises, he was still the man she loved. Just as handsome as he was when she left. Unable to resist temptation, her hand drifted to his ears. She had always been the only one allowed to touch them. Stroking the inside of one fuzzy triangle, she allowed her hand to travel through his hair, down his shoulder, and eventually grasped his clawed hand. Hands that were so rough. Rough from being alone, fending for himself since childhood. Rough from rejection. Rough from a broken heart. Rough from countless battles. But yet...soft. Soft from learning to trust. Soft from gaining friends. Soft enough that the slightest touch made her gasp. Soft enough to turn her tears into happy moisture. Soft enough to help her fall in love with him. "Oh, InuYasha, you have no idea how much I've missed you." She gingerly raised his hand up to press her lips against his skin, letting her tears fall onto the abrasions.

"Kagome..."

"Huh?" She abruptly dropped his hand and brought her own to her chest. "I...I thought you were asleep."

"Well...that's...what you get for thinking." He smiled, although his eyes were still closed. Blinking a few times, his weary eyes met hers. "Why...are you crying?"

"I...I've just missed you, that's all."

The hanyou laughed in a breath, grunting through a pain in his side. "That's all, huh?"

"Oh! You know what I mean!" She crossed her arms over her chest in a failed attempt to look angry.

"Do I?" The look on his face brought her back into seriousness.

"InuYasha, you know I missed you. I..." She paused, feeling foolish. Kikyo was still out there somewhere. Her chances of gaining his love were about that of Kouga gaining her own. He had made a point of telling her that he was her friend and that she had a place in his heart, but could that place ever metastasize into one as big as the spot Kikyo held. Taking a deep breath to regain her courage, she continued. "I...thought about you every day. I even wrote a song about all the time I spent in my era...alone."

"One day, you'll have to sing it to me." She raised her eyebrows in a skeptical glare. Was he acting this way from exhaustion? Maybe, he was talking out of his head. Either way, he wasn't being himself. Had he changed that much since she had been gone?

"Yeah, maybe one day I will."

"Kagome, I thou...I thought you were gone forever. Th...there are so many things I should've said...that I should've...done...things I regret..." He sat up abruptly, coughing harshly. His hand enveloped his ribs as a look of agony passed across his once serene features.

"Here! Drink, drink, drink!" She tipped the small bowl to his lips as he brought a trembling hand up over her own. "Let's not do this now. We have plenty of time to catch up." He choked a little on the liquid before nodding in agreement. "You have a lot of healing to do. You need to rest." Pulling off her jacket, she placed it over him as he laid over in front her, shivering and moaning. 'Please, Miroku...Sango...someone! Hurry!'

"What news do you bring?"

The demon kneeled itself in front of the hooded woman, lowering it's head as it removed it's armor. "The hanyou escaped...with the jewel."

"Fool!" She raised her hand, ready to end the warrior's existence.

"He was not alone! A young woman came from nowhere, my lady! She bears a striking resemblance to thee! We feared to attack! She took one down with a single arrow!"

"So, she has returned, has she?" The woman lowered her hand to the hood, pulling it from her raven hair as it fell freely upon her shoulders. "He will undoubtedly give her the jewel. I want you to slaughter everyone around them."

"Yes. And what of the hanyou and the girl?"

"Bring them to me. Alive! Fail and you will regret ever being revived! Now, go!" The demon bowed and exited as the woman seated herself in a shadowed corner. "InuYasha." A laugh rolled with the name, bringing a cruel smile to her dark face. "You have proven that your love for that girl is indestructible. To kill the love, kill the girl. I will even let you watch her agonizing death. I will break you down, piece by piece, you foolish half man! The villagers. Your friends. That...girl! I will enjoy destroying you."