Kagome began to stir as the scent of pine and earth drifted over her senses. The warmth she had missed so much was still there. Pulling her arms from underneath her, she wrapped them around his midsection, cuddling as close as she could without causing him pain. As happy as she was at that moment, she could not help but recall the confusion from their earlier conversations. She would never understand him, but was sure she was probably never meant to. His heart belonged to another. From the moment she decided to venture back to him, she knew that. But she had his friendship. If friendship was all that was required to stay this close to him, she would embrace it with open arms and no second thoughts.

"Kagome, you awake?"

She contemplated for a moment or two on whether or not to answer. The better person won.

"Mmmm-hmmm."

"Come on, we need to get moving."

Raising up, she wiped at her eyes and focused on him with a lazy smile. Okay, maybe it needed a recount. She fell forward and buried her face in his chest, willing away the option to wake up.

"Just five more minutes."

"Get up!" His command came out in a laugh as he gently pushed her off, her hands still clinging to his haori.

"Alright, alright." She again forced herself up, this time reaching for his forehead. "Looks like that fever broke. You feel better?"

"Yep, just a little sore. I'll live." Rising to his feet, he dusted himself off and reached a hand to her. "Get your shit."

"Yes, master." She brushed away his hand, a sleepy pout plastered to her face, and went about gathering their supplies. "Ya know, this is kinda like the old days, isn't it?" InuYasha turned his head toward her, his eyes trailing her every motion, and smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is."

"Just you and me, except this time...we're not doing the hunting." Throwing the bag over her shoulder with a sigh, she shoved her hands in her pockets and grinned uncontrollably. "Ready?"

"You are way too perky."

"And you are not perky enough." She informed, tapping the end of his nose and enlacing her arm in his as they began their journey.

"It hasn't been long since they passed through here." Kouga kneeled down, pointing to the imprints in the mud.

"They? You mean, she found him?" Sango wanted to jump and scream, but they were not out of danger yet. She would save her celebration for when they were found.

"Yep. I don't smell any blood, but he's bearing more weight on the left. Probably a foot or leg injury."

"What do you make of these?" The monk stood behind a nearby tree, pointing with his staff to another set of prints. What Kouga saw sent a growl rumbling in his chest.

"Searchers."

"Huh?"

"We called them searchers."

Monk and exterminator exchanged quizzical glances before encouraging him to speak again. "You mean, those creatures?"

"Of course, I mean those...things!"

Sango quickened her pace to line up beside the prince, Miroku following suit. "Why do you call them searchers?"

"Because when they slaughtered half my tribe..." He paused, clenching his fists in order to control his frustration, "...they were searching for something...for someone."

"Kouga, I...we didn't..."

"Forget it! All that's important now is rescuing Kagome!"

"And InuYasha." Miroku added. "You know, Kagome won't leave without him."

"She might have to." The wolf's face became solemn, his eyes hidden in a faraway glare.

"Why's that?"

"Because...he's the one their searching for."

"Well, we knew that." Miroku's fit of laughter desisted upon the scowl he received from Kouga's angry eyes. "He has the jewel and they..."

"Fool! Those creatures have no need for the jewel! If they had wanted the jewel, as injured as InuYasha was, they could've taken it with ease! Use your brain! They want InuYasha himself!"

"Very clever, wolf. You've figured me out. Now, don't get it wrong, I do want the jewel. I am it's true guardian! Not some worthless human girl who cannot even aim a arrow! Or some half beast who thinks he deserves it because he bled!" Her face settled into an entrenched grin as she waved her hand, diminishing the image in the water into another view. "First, I want to settle things with you, my love." She laughed forbiddingly, watching the hanyou stalk through the woods with Kagome at his side.

"Do you know where we're going?" Kagome looked around at the unfamiliar settings, an easy feeling pulling her closer to the hanyou.

"No idea." He shrugged.

"Great!"

"Look, I can't help it that those bastards broke my nose! Why don't you try playing tag with a 300 pound vampire and see how hot you look afterward!" Kagome playfully nudged him in the ribs, causing him to wince and hiss through clenched teeth. "Ow, wench! I told you, I'm still sore! Show a little concern, would ya?"

"Oops, sorry." She patted him on the shoulder sympathetically before nearly climbing up his arm when a rabbit bounced out from the bushes.

"Get on my back."

"What? Why?"

"Because we're never gonna get anywhere if you keep freakin' out every time the wind blows!" That's when he heard it. Through the whistling birds and the howl of the wind. The stomps of approaching feet. "Get on my back, now!"

"Okay, alright, pushy." Bracing herself against his shoulder blades, she pulled herself up, enabling him to latch onto her legs. Hissing at the added pressure on his ankle, he fell to one knee, summoning the will to stand back up. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Maybe I should just walk."

"No, trust me. We'll gain more ground if I carry you." Glancing at the silent area behind them and seeing no trace of an enemy, he decided not to tell her of his suspicions.

"Oh, I guess the speed we're traveling at was clouding my judgment."

InuYasha turned, smirking over his shoulder as he leaped into the trees. "Smart ass."

"The tracks have shifted into one set. Where could Kagome have gone?" He withheld his anger as the slayer peeked over his shoulder at the impressions. 'If that dog faced bastard has done anything to hurt her, I'll...'

"She's on his back."

"What?" Kouga turned his head upward, Sango hovering over him, holding a proud face for her cleverness.

"He's obviously carrying more weight. Look at the depth of the print and compare it to the others."

The wolf hid his incumbered face, feeling foolish to her out doings. "I knew that."

"It's not uncommon for them to travel that way. In the old days, you would hardly see..."

"Oh, it doesn't matter! We have to find them before the searchers do!"

Kagome tightened her embrace around the hanyou's neck, hiding her face against his back from the wind. She loved being able to feel this way again. The fresh air. The sense of freedom. The arrows whizzing over her head. Arrows? Kagome, keeping her head low, turned, her eyes setting on the swift ogres on their heels. The beasts moved somewhat gracefully, climbing against the sides of trees like spiders. Very, very fast spiders. "Uh, InuYasha!"

"What?"

"We got company!"

"I know, just hold on!" He tightened his grip on her knees, leaping to the ground and back into the trees, hoping to divert them.

"You know? What do you mean 'you know'?"

"Just shut up and hold on, would ya! Oh, wait, duck!" Kagome did the opposite and lifted her head out of reflex, jerking it back down as the low branch caught her forehead.

"Ow..."

"I told you to duck, stupid!"

"Oh, shut up and run!" She hissed, dabbing the blood from her head. She moved her hands up to grip his shoulders, hiding her face from the stinging wind. 'He can't do this forever...we gotta lose 'em somehow...we gotta...' Her head snapped up, her vocal chords suddenly disabled as the arrow dug into the small of her back. Moving her mouth, nothing came out but a hoarse squeak. Just enough to attract his attention.

"What's wrong?"

"A...a...a...arr...ow..."

"Huh?" The hanyou faltered, losing his balance on a small limb. Soaring to the ground, he moved Kagome in front of him. In a clumsy attempt to land on his feet, he could hear his ankle breaking in the intact places it had left. He ignored the pain and concentrated on the girl in his arms. "Kagome?" Shifting her to his shoulder, he pulled the arrow out and examined it. It dripped with nothing but blood. "No poison?" 'They don't plan to kill us!' His assumption was thrown short as a chain wrapped itself around his neck. The searcher pulled InuYasha to dangle above Kagome, another throwing a second chain to bind his arms. InuYasha gagged and gasped, anything to pull air into his lungs.

"I...Inu...Yasha..." The young woman's eyes opened. The look in those eyes. She was depending on him. Something sparked within the hanyou. Narrowing his eyes in sheer determination, he flexed the muscles in his arm fiercely, snapping the chains. Touching ground, he gripped the links around his neck and jerked the searcher from the tree. Kagome's vision began to blur as she watched the flood of arrows soar at the hanyou. Blackness. Complete darkness invading her world, she listened as the last of her hearing diminished.

"Tetsusaiga!"

"InuYasha! Look out!"

"Kagome! What the hell have you done, you mutt!"

'InuYasha...'