A/N Okay, I'm back! Here's the next chapter! I decided that after nine chapters, it was time for some minor if not serious fluff! So if you don't like tender moments and lots of mushiness, turn back now! lol. Don't ask me when I'll have eleven up... I'm starting to have problems writing it... - - Dangit... Kuso!

Disclaimer: I only own the plot, Elizabeth, Seras, Melissa, and now, Balto! So no sue! I work retail! Retail=no money Enjoy!

Points of View

Chapter 10

A Wolf And A Kiss

Inu Yasha silently watches as Elly plays with a wolf in front of Kaede's hut. It had only been three days ago that they had rescued the dumb animal and now she was playing with it! In just that short time, she had somehow managed to tame it and was now playing fetch with it like a big dog!

Inu Yasha growls low in his throat when he remembers how the beast had started taking a liking to her after she had bandaged its injured foot. What didn't help was that the damned thing smelled like that stupid flea-bag, Koga.

Something else that bothered him was that if any male besides Shippo approached her, Balto would growl as if perceiving that male as a threat. That there was another, she'd already named it!

Grumbling, her begins to head over to her, the wolf running back to her surprisingly well on only three legs. The injured foot they had bandaged before pulling it up to wrap another bandage around its body to hold the foot up off the ground and against its side like a makeshift sling. Seeing Inu Yasha approaching, Balto drops the ball at Elly's feet before growling at the half-demon.

Inu Yasha shoots a glare at the wolf. "Yeah, yeah. Growl growl to you to buddy!"

Balto whines softly as he sticks his tail between his legs and hides behind Elly's legs.

"You do realize that Balto here is only gonna end up bringing trouble. He's one of Koga's wolves. That flea-bag's stench is all over him."

Elly stares at him a moment as one hand idely scratches Balto's head soothingly before shrugging. "So? He's one of Koga's wolves. I already knew that."

Inu Yasha blinks, she already knew?

"Balto told me as much."

That snapped him out of it. "Oh, so now I take it you know how to speak wolf, huh?" He sneers at her, his arms crossed over his chest more out of habit than anything else.

"Nope, I simply mentioned Koga's name and he perked up. I can't speak wolf, but I know how to read a wolf's body language as if it was a spoken language like English or Japanese. Honestly Inu Yasha, I know I told you about how much I love wolves. It's only logical that I'd try to learn as much as I could about them." Elly easily reaches down, scooping the ball up before waving it in Balto's face to gain his attention.

"I still think this is a stupid mistake..." grumbled Inu Yasha.

Elly throws the ball for Balto before glaring at him. "And I still say that it's not! I wasn't about to leave him behind and let him suffer like that! If Koga has a problem with me helping one of his wolves, then he had better come straight to me about it and no one else you, you... Mutt-Face!"

"MUTT-FACE?! I'll show you a Mutt-Face you pain in the-"

"SIT BOY!"

WHAM!!!

Growling loudly, Inu Yasha forces his head up, yelling. "I didn't do nothin'!"

Kagome stands over him as she glares at the two, her arms crossed angrily over her chest. "I don't care who did what, you two were fighting again and I'm sick and tired of it. So... KNOCK IT OFF!!"

Kagome then stalks off, leaving a stunned if not slightly frightened Elly and a, amazingly enough, smirking Inu Yasha.

Elly plops down on the ground, Balto laying behind her with his paws over his eyes. She could only stare after the angry Miko before speaking somewhat nervously. "R, remind me to never actually piss her off..."

"Only if you stop calling me Mutt-Face."

Elly stares down at him for a moment, opening her mouth to say something before shutting it again. Thinking of how Kagome looked just moments ago, she shivers slightly before nodding. "Deal."

"Good. Now just remember, anything that happens with Koga, you brought it on yourself." Inu Yasha brushes the dirt off of him before heading after Kagome at a sedate pace, leaving Elly alone to think.

Elly stares after him, soon becoming engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice when it started to get dark, Balto laying his large head down in her lap.

Inu Yasha catches up to Kagome soon enough. He opens his mouth to call out to her only to shut it again when his hearing and his nose catch something he'd rather they didn't, the salty scent of tears and just barely audible sobs. He pauses for a moment even as she darts around Kaede's hut instead of inside. His ears droop slightly for a moment before going after her.

Wondering where she was heading, he follows just far enough behind to keep her in his line of sight without disturbing her. He doesn't have to follow her for too long, she soon stops and sits to cry quietly in the roots of the same tree he had been pinned to up until nearly two to three years ago.

The sight nearly breaks his heart.

He silently moves to stand in front of her before quietly sitting down cross-legged. What was she crying about? His ears drooped, he speaks softly. "Kagome? Kagome, what's wrong?"

He places a hand on her shoulder only to have her jerk away from him. That movement hurt him worse than any of her sits ever could. He sullenly places his hands in his sleeves, closing his eyes for a moment to think. He supposed the best thing he could do was leave.

He starts to rise to his feet only to find himself suddenly sprawled on his back, Kagome laying on top of him with her face buried in his chest and her fingers desperately clutching the front of his haori, sobbing. "Don't leave me... please don't leave me Inu Yasha..."

Sighing softly, Inu Yasha smiles slightly as he carefully wraps his arms around her, one hand tenderly stroking her and back in a soothing gesture. "It's okay Kagome. I'm not going anywhere..."

She sniffs slightly, slowly beginning to calm down. "Promise me?"

Inu Yasha reaches one hand up to place it under her chin, gently forcing her head up so that he can look her in the eyes. Once gold are staring deeply into blue-gray, he speaks. "I promise." Removing his hand, he shifts his hold slightly on her to hold her more comfortably to him. "Now tell me, what were you crying about?"

Kagome stares at him a moment before looking away. "Because I used the command on you... I'm sorry. I was just so sick and tired of listening to people argue all the time."

He gives her a small squeeze. "Don't worry about it. I don't blame you. I guess I did deserve it for the most part. At any rate, what do you think of this idea: we pair Elly up with Koga. If we can convince him that he mainly wants you because you're mine and get him interested in Elly, then he'll leave you alone. You'll be happy and so will I. Not to mention, Elly's already told me she likes him. After that, it shouldn't take much for them to realize that they're a perfect match since she loves and understands wolves so well..."

Kagome stares at him in astonishment for a moment before smiling brightly. "Inu Yasha... you're a genius! I could kiss you!" Without further thought, she does just that before jumping up and clapping her hands together, not even noticing the dazed if not stunned look on his face. "Once Koga sees how well she's taken care of Balto, there's practically no way he could have any doubts!"

Somehow managing to pull himself to his feet, Inu Yasha stares at her as she rambles on before grabbing her and spinning her around to face him.

Kagome blinks, staring up at him with worried eyes. "Inu Yasha? Are you okay?"

Inu Yasha stares at her soft lips for a moment before crushing them against his own in a firm but hesitant kiss, only relaxing when he feels her starting to return it. He carefully wraps his arms around her, tenderly holding her to him. They had kissed once already at the well before Melissa and Elly had shown up.

He found it to be nearly a relief when he found it hadn't just been his imagination as to how she had tasted then. She tasted like honey right out of the hive on the comb, a small hint of apple from when she had eaten lunch just an hour or so ago.

Her scent, her scent is what intoxicated him the most. It smelled like a soft mixture of lilac, lavender, roses and early spring when the first flowers bloomed right after the rain. He knew the smell wouldn't work for anyone else, it was a somewhat strange mixture that somehow worked and was uniquely her own.

He reluctantly pulls away from her, his hands clenching and unclenching her upper arms repeatedly as he stares down at her. He couldn't help but think about how beautiful she looked with her cheeks flushed, her slightly glazed eyes staring dazedly up at him, and her lips slightly swollen from his kiss.

He knew he wanted to do more, but he also knew that this wasn't the time for it. There were other things that had to be done first. "Kagome... I-"

She places her index finger on his lips for a moment before smiling sadly as she outlines them with the tip. "I know, Inu Yasha... and if you were about to apologize, you have nothing to apologize for."

Inu Yasha reaches up to hold her hand, nibbling momentarily on the tip before pulling it away, sending a shiver up her arm and down her spine. "Actually, I wasn't going to apologize... I was going to say I love you and I think you look very..." He looks at her hair as he reaches his free hand around and lets the silky black strands fall through his fingers to drape over her shoulder tenderly before looking back into her eyes with his love shining clearly in his own. "...beautiful."

She smiles up at him, a single tear starting to track its way down her cheek before he tenderly reaches up and uses his thumb to gently wipe it away. "I love you too, Inu Yasha... and thank you." She turns her face slightly, placing a kiss in the middle of his palm.

Inu Yasha shifts somewhat uncomfortably, this was the first time he had truly opened himself to someone like this. Not even before Kikyo pinned him to the tree had he been so open. With that thought came a realization. He never loved Kikyo, never in the same way he loved Kagome. They were both merely lonely outcasts seeking companionship with someone like them.

Sighing softly he gives Kagome a quick hug before wrapping an arm around her shoulders to hold her to his side. "C'mon Kagome. We'd better head back before Shippo decides to come find us. Or any of the others as far as that even goes..." he grumps.

Kagome can't help but chuckle at his sulky attitude as she wraps her arm around his waist. "You know you care for Shippo almost like he was your own pup! Admit it!"

He mumbles something beneath his breath that she couldn't make out. He wasn't about to even actually say it loud enough so that she could hear it.

Kagome pokes Inu Yasha in his side. "What was that? I didn't hear you!"

Not wanting to get poked again, especially since she had hit at a ticklish spot, he repeats himself. "I said I admit it... There! Ya happy now?!"

She smiles up at him before leaning her head against his side as they continued to slowly walk back towards the village. "Very much so. I couldn't be happier."