This entire Story is dedicated to David. You know who you are. He was my inspiration to keep writing when all other options were lost. I hope that I can still live up to your expectations. Thanks.

Sango sat in silence a few feet away from the meditating monk, keeping her gaze locked on the silent frame of the forest around them. Kagome had been gone way too long. "Miroku?"

"Yes?" The monk opened his eyes and studied her demeanor. Her hand gripped the hilt of her sword and she had yet to even look at him. "You're going, aren't you?"

"I have to. Kagome and InuYasha are my friends. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wonder if just maybe there was something I could have done." Her voice remained quiet in hope that the fox child wouldn't hear. No such luck.

"You think something's happened to Kagome?" Sango met his teary eyes, her heart breaking in the few places it had left.

"I...I'm not sure, Shippo. If she's out there, rest assured that I will find her." Her voice was now shaky and cracking, but she did her best to control it. For Shippo's sake.

"You mean, we'll find her." All heads turned consecutively to the source of the gruff voice. Standing defiantly at the lining of the brush was the wolf prince himself.

"Kouga? What are you..."

"Save it! Is it true? Is she really back?"

"Well, yeah, but she went to find InuYasha. He may be..."

"Screw dog breath! We need to find Kagome!" He turned in a purposeful stride, glancing back over his shoulder. "Are you just gonna stand there!"

"Uh...no. I'm comin'" The slayer turned for her boomerang, noticing the monk standing and dusting his robes.

"We're coming."

"We can't both go." Realizing their dilemma, they stood in contemplation.

"Aw shit! I don't really care who comes, but I will send my people to guard your villagers. Now, can we just go?" Kouga tapped his foot, impatiently awaiting an answer.

"Okay."

"Sure."

"Alright, haul ass!"

Shippo waved the three off while Sango suspiciously glared at the wolf strutting ahead of herself and the monk. 'Why is he this far south? Oh, well, I guess we do stand a better chance with him on our side.'

Kagome watched her companion uneasily as he silently stared into the rising sun. He had been awake for a while, but had stayed surprisingly quiet and had refused any treatment she had attempted to administer. His wounds were definitely infected and he had developed a fever during the night. To complicate things more, she had a suspicion that his ankle was broken. How could she know for sure? He wouldn't even let her look at it. Her choices were limited, leaving her without a clue of what to do next. 'He must be seriously worn if his injuries haven't at least started to heal.'

"Kagome?" She shook herself from her thoughts and returned to her visual examination.

"What?"

"Why...why did you really come back? You have the jewel now."

Narrowing her eyes in apparent anger at his insinuation, she avoided his question with one of her own. "Why won't you look at me?"

"No reason."

His answer was simple, but enough to slice her heart in two. 'What happened to the InuYasha I saw last night? I guess it was the delirium.' He could be so complicated at times and she had convinced herself that she had missed it. Now...she wasn't so sure.

"You didn't answer my question." His bland statement brought her attention back to him.

"Answer one for me first." She didn't want to be so direct, but she had to know the reason behind his attitude. So, she asked the one thing she thought was the detailed dilemma. "How's Kikyo?" Ouch. That one stung and she could tell. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, still keeping his head turned away from her.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fine. Then I don't wanna talk about why I came back." Something was wrong. Usually he would at least give her some vague details. 'What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?'

"I wouldn't know."

"Huh?" Kagome lifted her head to stare into his once shining amber orbs, now diminished to a dull glare.

"I wouldn't know how she is. I haven't seen her in...2 years, I guess."

"InuYasha, I..."

"Look, don't make it a big deal, cause it's not. I don't care." He lowered his head in an attempt to keep her from seeing the hurt in his eyes.

"No, of course, you don't." She kept her voice tranquil and understanding as she moved closer.

"What happened? When you did see her, I mean."

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore! Will you just do what you gotta to these scratches!"

"Okay." Pulling open his haori, she slipped her fingers underneath the linen strips bound around his ribs. The wound was still swollen and hot to the touch. "That...doesn't look too good."

"It's fine." Raising an eyebrow and shaking her head, she dipped her fingers into the herbal ointment she had concocted. She heard him wince quietly as she dabbed the sticky substance onto the stitched area, knowing that it stung. "I did miss you."

"You did?"

"Well, of course, I did, wench! Did you think I was talking to hear my self speak last night!" He jerked down the white shirt and leaned his head to glare at her, emphasizing his point.

"Well, actually..."

"Leave it to you to be so stupid!" With an indignant grunt, he pulled himself to stand and leaned back against the tree. Kagome huffed in protest and put a hand to his forehead.

"You still have a fever. Lay back down and I'll make you something to eat."

"We don't have time for that! We have to go!" He cautiously released his clutch on the tree, trying to stand solo. Kagome shook her head as his legs began to tremble and placed her hands under his arms just as he began to fall.

"You're gonna fall and break the other ankle, silly." InuYasha eyed her as she helped lower him back down to the ground. "We'll go as soon as you eat something."

"I told you, I don't want anything!"

"No, you didn't. You said we didn't have time." She giggled at her overthrow of the hanyou and laughed even harder as she realized he wasn't happy about it. She turned around to place the small box over the fire and then turned back to him, resting her head on her fists. He loved her smile. Always had. Probably always would. She was still so beautiful with the same teenage features, except for filling out in all the right places. Kikyo was beautiful, too, but something about Kagome...captivated him. He had never felt such pain as he did when she left. He would have rather been ran through fifteen times with the largest sword than feel that again. He might as well had ripped out his heart and sent it through the well with her. Because she took it anyway. He couldn't let her know. Not yet. Kikyo was still around and something wasn't right in her disappearance. She was up to no good and he knew it. Realizing he had been staring a little too long, he broke the unnerving silence.

"Okay, you win."

"I always do. Figured you'd gotten used to that by now."

"Can your ego get any bigger?" He huffed, raising the heels of his hands to rub his temples.

"Not as big as yours, I'm afraid." Her smile never faltered.

"You're impossible." He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, closing them slowly. His arms began to ache from the constant motion of aiding his headache. Kagome tilted her head to get a better look into his pained face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, my head just hurts." He continued to rub his temples until he felt the damp cloth touch his cheek. "Huh?"

"I told you, you have a fever. Of course, your head's gonna hurt." She reached to lower his hand before pressing the cloth to his forehead. Pulling his hair aside she dabbed the rag against his neck, ecstatic when he leaned his head to allow her better access. Letting the cloth rest on the nape of his neck, she turned to fetch the heated ramen. "You'll feel better after you eat something." What happened next could have sent her into heart failure. InuYasha turned his nose up at ramen.

"I...I don't really feel like eating right now."

"But you said you would."

"No, I said you won. I never said I would eat." He grinned somewhat devilishly through the pain in his eyes, tweaking on her last nerve.

"You need to eat." She furrowed her brow and said the words very slowly, hoping he would get the point before she 'sat' him to the breaking point.

"I'm not hungry!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Are!"

"Not!"

"Would you eat if I promise to shut up?"

"I would crawl to Hell and back if you promised to shut up!" He jerked the box from her hand and lifted a few noodles on the tips of his claws. Gulping fiercely, he downed the first bite, hoping silently it wouldn't come back to haunt him.

"See, it's good."

"I thought you were going to shut up!" He snapped, chewing a few more noodles. He felt his stomach roll before sitting the cup down at his feet.

"And I thought you were going to eat!" She picked the box back up and shoved it persistently into his face.

"Look, wench, if you don't want it to come back all over you, then I suggest you give it a rest!"

"Okay, alright. Gees, still the same old grouch. Do you want some water?"

"No."

"Fine." Sighing in defeat, she sat the noodles aside and poked at the fire. 'Wench this, stupid that! He's so mean to me! Yet, I love him so much...maybe I really am stupid.' "It's really cold out here for daytime, don't you-huh?" She gasped as his kimono was draped around her shoulders. "InuYasha, what are you doing?" Without so much as a reply, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her between his drawn up legs. "InuYasha?"

"What? You just said you were cold, and you probably didn't sleep last night. So, go to sleep." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting his hands hang away from her chest and his elbows rest on his knees. Although it was very inviting, she couldn't pull away her worry for him.

"What about you? You're still burning up." Kagome tilted her head back as he opened his eyes to stare ahead.

"I'll be fine. I'll keep watch until you wake up."

"Are you sure?"

"Would I have offered if I wasn't? Yes, I'm freakin' sure! Now, go to sleep already!" Turning carefully as not to hurt him, she let her ear press against his chest, his heartbeat slowly lulling her to sleep. At that moment, their thoughts seemed to intertwine.

'I could definitely get used to this.'

"Kagome was here. Her scent is only a few hours old." Kouga raised his head from the ground, a relieved smile drifting across his face. "I don't smell her blood, so she hasn't been injured."

"That's good news." Miroku stepped up behind the wolf, scanning the area for any dangers.

"InuYasha, on the other hand...(sniff) his blood coats this area. His scent is older...(sniff, sniff) Maybe, a few hours or so than Kagome's." Standing, the prince searched the ground for a trail to follow.

"Well?" Sango and Miroku said in unison.

"This way."

"They will probably be where we left them. The hanyou is injured and will not be able to run. He should be easy prey."

"Fool! We are not to kill them. She wants them brought to her. I dare not think of the consequences if we fail."

"How alive does she want them?"

"She did not say. So, let's just make sure they arrive with a heartbeat still in place." The creatures laughed in a hiss as they neared where InuYasha and Kagome laid sleeping.

The woman watched from a pool of dark magic as InuYasha's eyes finally drifted shut. The moment she had been waiting for.

"This is going to be amusing."