Author's note: Ugh, nine tries later. Ff.net had a real problem with the italics in this chapter, but I finally got them to work.

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Disclaimer: *Staaaaaaaare. * 0_0

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Inuyasha lifted his head and yawned sleepily. Stretching his arms out over his head, he peered at the horizon. Blearily, the first few tendrils of light reached over the land…

Ba-bmp.

His eyes drifted closed as the first wave of power coursed through his veins.

B-BMP.

His hair turned white, and his ears moved to the top of his head.

B-BMP!

His claws shot out from his fingertips with a loud crack! Finally, demon strength pulsed beneath his muscles, and his senses returned to him in a sudden wave.

Smirking, Inuyasha stood and took a deep breath. His eyes closed as he took in all the scents he missed while he was human. He could smell the grass, the trees…

…Kagome…

Slowly, Inuyasha sank into a crouch beside her sleeping form. Her face looked so…childlike when she was asleep. Tenderly, Inuyasha smiled down at her. He reached out and gently touched her face. His heart jumped when she smiled sleepily and turned into his touch.

That smile. No matter what happened, Kagome was always smiling a few minutes later. It was that smile that had broken through his defenses.

His own wavered. How many times has she smiled for me, when I could dredge up nothing in return? How many times has she laughed, tried to comfort me, even stood up for me? What have I given her in return?

Suddenly, Inuyasha became serious. I promise. I promise to you, Kagome, that someday I will give back everything you've given me. Tenfold. He looked at the sunrise. Just…just give me the time.

Her eyes twitched gently, and her eyes opened to peer at him. His heart jumped into his throat as she smiled softly.

"Mm. G'morning, Inuyasha." Her voice slurred from sleep. Yawning mightily, she sat up and stretched her uninjured arm over her head. She chuckled softly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Glad to see that you're back to normal."

"Yeah. Um…how's your arm?"

She paused and looked at it. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Gingerly, she touched the wound and winced. "Ooh, that stings." She twisted her arm slowly back and forth, then gave up. "It's no use. I won't be able to shoot my bow for a while."

She blinked as Inuyasha suddenly rose to his feet. "What's with you?"

Guilt ran through him, again. Struggling with the emotion, he found himself snapping at her.

"You know, maybe if you didn't let your guard down all the time, this wouldn't have happened." He turned away. "I can't always be there to protect you, Kagome. Quit being so damned trusting all the time and defend yourself for once!!" His words became jumbled, memories of betrayals flashing before his eyes. He was barely even aware that he was still speaking. "You always think that everything's going to turn out all right, and you walk right into traps! You never stop to think that someone'll turn against you, do you??"

Kagome stared at him in shock, the blood rushing in her ears until she couldn't hear him anymore. I don't believe him…Kikyo just shot me, and he's saying that it's MY fault??? Enraged, she climbed to her feet, reached out, and grabbed one of his forelocks, pulling his around to face her.

"Dammit, Kagome, will you stop pulling on my hair?!"

Her hand flew through the air.

SLAP!

Shocked, Inuyasha lifted a hand to his stinging cheek.

Kagome glared at him, tears shimmering in her eyes. "How dare you. How dare you say that this was my fault! Did I blame you for what happened?? No!! Did I berate you for letting Kikyo go? No! And don't you talk to me about walking into traps. Every damn time she comes to kill you, you just wander off to see her! As if you think that 'everything's going to turn out all right'!" Her words took on a sharp mocking tone, though her voice cracked on the last word. Angrily, she swiped her tears away. "You just go off, not even bothering to think about how worried we are about you…and then, then when something happens, you pin it on me??"

She stared him right in the eye, and Inuyasha's heart plummeted. That look in her eyes…He swallowed.

"I…I didn't mean it like that…" he replied lamely.

Without another word, she pivoted on her heel and stalked away.

"H-hey, where are you going?" He reached a hand in her direction and started to follow. "Kagome, what are you—"

"SIT!!!"

Inuyasha plummeted to the ground. After a moment, he struggled to lift his head out of the crater. He opened his mouth to yell after her, but he closed it without saying anything. Sheesh, no wonder she's mad, but it's not like I meant it… He sighed. How am I going to get myself out of this one?

When his body recovered from the subduing spell, he stood and brushed himself off. I guess…I guess I'll have to apologize, but…how? He frowned at the prospect of humbling himself, but then his words replayed in his head. He winced. Damn. Now I really have something to make up to her.

Shoving his hands in his sleeves, he wandered off in the opposite direction.

Soon after, Ishiyana quit pretending to be asleep and sat up. Now THAT was a fight. Rising, he decided to hunt down Kagome. She'll want some comforting after that.

He came across her before a stream. She sat huddled on the riverbed, crying softly. Face softening, Ishiyana approached her.

"Kagome?" he called softly. She spun about, obviously about to toss a verbal dagger at him, but she paused when she saw his face.

"Oh…Ishiyana. It's just you." She sighed and turned to stare bleakly into the water.

Wincing at the "just" part of her comment, he sat beside her.

"Are you ok?"

No response.

Feeling a wave of tenderness rise, Ishiyana slowly reached an arm towards her, but he hesitated. Should I?

When she hiccupped and sniffed, Ishiyana took the plunge and gently wrapped his arm about her shoulders, pulling her close against him. When she stiffened in surprise, he wrapped his other arm around her and rested his chin atop her head.

"It's ok, Kagome. Just let it out."

At that, she burst into tears. Crying fitfully, she threw her arms around Ishiyana.

"How could…*sniff*…how could he say that to me?? Am I really that naïve, that I—"

Ishiyana interrupted her. "No, Kagome. It wasn't your fault, and he knows it. I can't say that I know why he would say something like that, but…" He sighed. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

She sniffled. "I know that, but…" Her voice cracked. "It still h-hurt!" She started sobbing again.

Sighing, Ishiyana looked up at the sky. What have I gotten myself into? This whole feudal era thing, these wacky people, Kagome…it's so much!

Tilting his chin down, he looked at the top of her head. Ok, it's kind of obvious that I like her. Why wouldn't I? But…it's just as obvious that she's after Inuyasha. She wouldn't cry like this if he didn't mean a lot to her. The thing is, do I really want to try to win her over? If she's going to be spending the majority of her time here, then what kind of relationship could we possibly have? I can't stay here all the time like she does.

Ishiyana closed his eyes for a moment. The girl I'm falling for is a time traveler. He sighed and shook his head.

Oh, what the hell. We'll just see what happens.

With that thought, Ishiyana opened his eyes and smiled. Gently pushing her away, he stood and tugged on her hands.

"C'mon, Kagome."

She blinked and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Sniffing, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"W-what are you talking about?"

Grinning, Ishiyana took her hand and started running, pulling her behind him. "Just come on!"

She stumbled slightly. "Wait! Where are we going?"

He grinned over his shoulder at her. "How should I know? I've never been here before!" He faced front and leapt to the other bank of the stream, Kagome following suit. "But I do know that we've got better things to do than just sit around and mope."

She huffed, slightly insulted. "Well excuse me, but—"

"Listen, Kagome. You've been hanging out in the feudal era for how long now? Have you ever just taken the time to…I don't know, explore a little?"

"Well, I…I never really had the time to—"

"Then it's about time you started." He grinned over his shoulder again. "Doesn't make sense to skip school and not have some fun with it!"

She stared at him for a long moment, then gave up and laughed. "Ok, ok, you're right." Squinting, she tried to make something out in the distance. Grinning, she dropped his hand and moved to his side, pacing him.

"Race you to the boulder!"

He laughed. "You're on!"

The two took off in the direction of a large, egg-shaped boulder ahead. Hair flying, Kagome laughed as she hopped back and forth over the stream in an attempt to make him fall back. Wow, I haven't had this much fun in ages!

Ishiyana was at first surprised to find out that they were well matched for speed. Then again, she's always running from demons. She'd have to be good at that! Jumping over a log, he decided to pull her weaving ploy on her. Laughingly cursing him for cheating, she fell back slightly.

Ishiyana passed the boulder first (barely), but instead of stopping, he ran up a sudden hill to the side. Breathless, Kagome followed him until he came to a sudden stop on a ledge. When she stood beside him on his right, she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"Oh gods…it's gorgeous!"

Before and below them was a brilliant lagoon. Brightly colored plants, trees, and flowers framed the banks, and a magnificent waterfall towered above them on the far side of the lagoon. The water was a breath-taking sapphire blue in the center, and it faded into a brilliant emerald green towards the shores. A few birds flitted amongst the trees, chirping softly.

The ledge they were standing on leaned way out over the blue part of the water. Blinking slowly as if in a dream, Kagome turned to Ishiyana.

"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen."

He almost didn't respond, but his voice softly found its way out. "Me too."

"Did…did you know this was here?"

"No." He looked at her, the awe apparent on his face. "But I have a feeling I won't forget where it is."

Kagome looked out over the lagoon, then lowered her eyes. If only I could have shared this with Inuyasha…but he'd never think of appreciating something like this.

Ishiyana took in her slightly downcast expression and frowned thoughtfully. Peering over the edge, he judged the distance to the water and the depth of the lagoon. Straightening, he smiled slyly at Kagome.

She looked up as he took a step closer to her. "Hey, what are you doing?" She couldn't interpret that smile. It almost reminded her of a movie, the kind of smile a guy always had right before he kissed a girl. No way. Ishiyana would never…

She nervously tried to step back as Ishiyana moved even closer, but he placed his hands on her waist.

"You know what, Kagome?" He leaned down slightly, bringing their faces closer together.

She blushed furiously. "W-what?"

Smiling, he leaned closer and tilted his head to the side, nearly breathing into her left ear.

"You look kind of hot…"

"H-huh?"

Grinning evilly, he shoved her…

…Right off the ledge.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

SPLASH!!

Kagome came up sputtering and laughing. "You JERK!! Get down here and get what's coming to you!"

Ishiyana was doubled over, clutching his sides as he laughed. "Kagome," he gasped, "if you could have seen your face when you went over!"

She swiped her wet hair out of her face and laughed. "Har har har. Verrrrrrrry funny, Ishiyana!"

Grinning, Ishiyana took two steps back, then ran forward and launched himself over the ledge. On his way down, he tucked his legs in and wrapped his arms around them.

"CANNONBALL!!"

SPLOOSH!

"Hey!" Kagome laughed as the splash hit her. When he surfaced, she stuck her tongue out at him. "You're a total jerk, you know that??"

He smirked. "Yep, I'm aware of that."

Pretending to pout, she hit the water with a sweeping motion, splashing him.

He slowly parted his dripping hair. "Of course, you know, this means war!"

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Inuyasha's ears perked up at Kagome's yell. Oh no, NOW what?? Frightened, he sprinted off in her direction. Don't tell me she got hurt again! He glowered. I already feel bad enough about the last time!

Moments later, Inuyasha came across a lagoon. At first, he couldn't even see Kagome, but then he noticed her flailing arms. She was underwater, and she was fighting off…

Ishiyana?

The boy was forcibly holding her under, and he was grinning like a maniac.

Inuyasha's trembling hands balled into fists. "What…the HELL…are you DOING??"

Burning with rage, Inuyasha splashed into the lagoon. "LET GO OF HER!!"

Distracted, Ishiyana started to turn and loosened his hold on Kagome. Immediately, she popped above the surface, wrapped her arms around his neck, hooked her leg around his, and dunked him.

She laughed as he flailed his arms about. "See how you like that!"

Inuyasha drew to a stop and gawked at them. They're…playing?

After a moment, Ishiyana slipped free of her and surfaced, immediately sending a wave of water at her. Shrieking, she turned her head to the side and engaged in an all-out splash war with him.

Inuyasha stared. Are all people from their time so…moronic? He tried to tramp down a surge of jealousy. She never laughs like that with me!

As he moved to the side, Ishiyana finally spotted Inuyasha. Smirking, he sliced at the water and sent a towering wave towards him.

Kagome stopped at the seemingly random splash. "Ishiyana, where on earth are you aiming?" Laughing, she turned and spotted a sopping wet and thoroughly disgruntled Inuyasha. She choked on her laughter. "Oh."

Suddenly remembering why she was out here in the first place, she turned her back on him. I'm not going to let him off easy just because Ishiyana cheered me up. Her chin stubbornly tilted up. This time, he'll have to apologize!

Inuyasha winced at her cold shoulder. Damn. Sighing, he waded a little further into the water.

"Listen, Kagome, I…I'm…" His throat caught on the words. Dammit, I HATE apologizing! When she didn't even acknowledge him, though, he slumped.

"Kagome, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said, it's just that…I felt…" He groaned in frustration. "I felt guilty, ok? I didn't protect you, and I couldn't deal with it, so I snapped at you. I'm sorry, ok??" His voice went on the defensive, and he tried to slide his hands into his sleeves, but seeing as they were wet, he settled for crossing his arms and glowering.

She turned to face him. "You hurt my feelings, you know."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know, but…you should've figured out by now that I don't mean those things. Sheesh." He frowned. "You always overreact!"

"Overreact?? You said—"

Ishiyana jumped in. "He said he was sorry. Why don't you two leave it at that?"

They blinked at him, having forgotten he was there. He shook his head. "You two sure love to fight. If you're going to, though, I think you should leave." He waved a hand at the lagoon. "I really don't think people should argue in a place like this."

After a moment, Kagome smiled softly at him. "You're right, Ishiyana." She turned to Inuyasha and sighed heavily. "Ok, ok, I'll forgive you." I might as well just get on with my life. When he opened his mouth, she held up a hand. "Uh-uh. If you say something now, you're probably going to say the wrong thing." He shut it and glowered. She laughed at his expression. And he said he doesn't pout!

Wringing out her shirt, she waded to the shore. "I'm heading back to camp. I'm getting hungry." She shook her shoes, trying to get some water out of them, then ran down the stream, leaving the two boys behind.

Silent, Ishiyana pulled his hair back and tried to wring it out. He hadn't noticed before, but his hair was way shorter than Inuyasha's. Inuyasha could probably sit on his, whereas Ishiyana's stopped only a little beyond his shoulders. And here I thought MY hair was long. Has he ever cut it??

With a smirk, Ishiyana mimicked Inuyasha's pose and glowered back at him. When he got no response, he shook his head.

"Would you mind telling me why you look like you'd love to run me through with the Tetsusaiga?"

Inuyasha shook one damp forelock out of his face. "Feh. You're not worth the trouble."

Ishiyana rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He started to wade out of the lagoon, but he stopped short. "Hey, Inuyasha, are you even aware of it?"

"Aware of what?"

Ishiyana turned to face him. "Well, aware of that…smell."

Inuyasha scowled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, remember what I said about you smelling like a m… well, you know?"

Inuyasha started growling. "Yeah, so?"

"Well, I figured that you realized it, but…"

"But what?"

"You smell like a dead raccoon."

"WHAT??"

He tilted his head. "Haven't you ever noticed? I mean, do you ever bathe?"

Inuyasha's face turned bright red, and his hand went to the hilt of the Tetsusaiga. "Are you telling me that I stink??"

"Well…yeah." Taking in the look on Inuyasha's face, Ishiyana put both hands up and backed away. "Hey, it's not just you. Miroku and Shippo kind of smell a little funky, too. I'm guessing that Sango always bathes when Kagome does, because she doesn't smell." He put his hands down. "Didn't you ever think about it? I mean, all the running around and fighting that you probably do…that would make you reek after a while, wouldn't it? Personally, I don't know why Kagome hasn't mentioned it before."

I'll kill him. Right here, right now, I'll rip his head off. Furious and embarrassed, Inuyasha started striding towards Ishiyana.

Clearly aware of the danger, Ishiyana ran for the shore. "Of course, I could just be imagining things!" Hitting the sand, he took off at a dead run. He shouted back over his shoulder. "Still, you may want to scrub down a bit!"

Inuyasha stood in the middle of the lagoon. Do I really smell that bad? He lifted an arm and sniffed. It's not THAT bad, compared to a lot of humans…

Face red, Inuyasha looked around. Seeing no one, he stripped and started washing himself. Why that little…first chance I get, I'm wringing his neck. He took a deep breath and dunked himself, wondering how hard it would be to get a vat of boiling oil and toast the little wuss.

*          *          *

Kagome looked up from her portable stove when Inuyasha entered the clearing.

"There you are. What took you so long?"

His face turned red, and he looked away. "Nothing. Just…something I had to do."

Ishiyana snorted into his hand, earning himself a growl from Inuyasha. The others looked on, confused.

"What exactly is going on here?" Miroku folded his arms leisurely across his chest.

Inuyasha scowled. "I said it's nothing. Drop it." He sat down near Kagome. "When's the food going to be ready, anyway?"

"Give me a few minutes." Suddenly, she paused and sniffed at the air. "Inuyasha, why do you…"

His voice lowered. "Why do I what?"

She stared at him, then shrugged and turned back to her cooking duty. He smells…fresh. I wonder if it's from the lagoon? She dismissed the thought as unimportant.

A few minutes later, the ramen was ready. Smiling, she handed Inuyasha's his first, then turned to give the others their ramen containers. He'd have bitten my hand off if I'd fed anyone else first. She chuckled. You just can't get between him and his food.

As Inuyasha packed his food into his mouth, he wondered at Kagome's ability to recover. She honestly doesn't look mad at me anymore. His eyes narrowed. Just what did Ishiyana say to her?

"Say, Inuyasha." He looked at Miroku. "Did you realize that you slept last night?"

Inuyasha frowned. "So what?"

"You told me that you never sleep when you become human."

Inuyasha momentarily put down his chopsticks. He's right. I did fall asleep, and I didn't even give it another thought. I wonder why?

Kagome smiled as if she'd read his thoughts. "Maybe that means you're finally beginning to trust us more."

"Feh." Inuyasha turned away and continued stuffing himself. Hmm, I guess I am a lot less suspicious than I was before. When did that happen? Inuyasha continued to muse for some time more, tuning out the others as they starting chatting.

"Ahem."

Inuyasha turned to Miroku, who sat there looking at him, a wary expression on his face.

"I hate to break you out of your reverie, Inuyasha, but do you sense it?"

"Sense wha—" Inuyasha trailed off, looking into the forest. "A demon's coming."

Kirara growled softly, lifting her head from a piece of fish Kagome had prepared for her.

The group rose to its feet warily.

"Whatever's coming is not happy," Miroku stated grimly.

Suddenly, a tremendous swarm of birds rose up out of the trees, squawking crazily. A brief moment of tension followed, but then—

BOOM!

The ground trembled furiously and a blast of wind cut through the forest. With horrible cracking sounds, trees were shredded from their bases and hurled towards them. Row after row of trees disappeared, leaving only the image of a dark shape beyond them.

Ishiyana jumped as a tree hit the ground before him.

"What the hell is going on??"

Shippo closed his eyes and buried his face in Kagome's shirt as a new line of trees blasted past the group. "I don't even wanna know!!"

Scowling, Inuyasha pulled his Tetsusaiga free of its scabbard.

"Who are you?? Show yourself!"

The dark shape lifted its head, green eyes blaring.

"I've come to settle the score, Inuyasha!" The man's voice was dripping with poison.

Baffled, the group looked at each other.

"But, it couldn't be…" Sango started. "Inuyasha destroyed him!"

"Hah! No mere half-breed could destroy me!"

The last line of trees blew by, leaving an expanse of dust in its wake. As the dust settled, the man was revealed.

Kagome gasped. "It's Kiori! How'd he survive??"

The red-haired man stood on one leg, rage painted clearly upon the undamaged half of his face. "I always survive! I'm the Master Trickster, dammit!!"

Suddenly, the wind around the man picked up. His eyes stretched wide.

"And it's time for you, Inuyasha, to see Hell!!!"