Hi all. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I have fallen prey to a terrible disease. That horrendous affliction that attacks all who post to ff.net...WRITER'S BLOCK! I wrote out the scenes in Kagome's time, I had those planned out from the beginning. But now that we get into the Feudal Era, I realize I have a bunch of action sequences...and no order and nothing to hold them all together. I will compensate by working twice as hard. In this chapter, Inuyasha and Kagome prove...heh heh heh...that they're not just friends. Read on!

Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Early the next morning, Kagome woke up to find herself alone. Inuyasha's tree was empty, and Tobias was nowhere to be seen. She rose up a little out of her sleeping bag, apprehensive but not fearful. She saw Tobias's armor lying on the grass near the fire. Tobias took off his armor? Why? Kagome looked and saw a trail through the forest that had been sliced there with a sword. Well, that answers where Tobias is, but... She got dressed and walked off on the trail.

After walking for about a minute, she came upon an area that she recognized as a hot spring. There was a boulder between her and it, blocking her view of whatever was there. Beyond the boulder, on the edge of the spring that she could just see from her angle, Kagome saw an unmistakable glint of the sun off of metal. His sword?? He's just leaving it lying around? She was about to go around the boulder to investigate.

"Trust me, you don't want to go in there," came Inuyasha's voice from behind her. She turned, startled at him. She hit him over the head.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! I almost had a heart attack!" Inuyasha smiled.

"Tobias is in there, taking a bath." Kagome blushed a deep crimson and tore off in the direction of the campsite. Well, that answers that... she thought as she arrived back at her sleeping bag. Inuyasha arrived not long afterwards. He was grinning from ear to ear.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "What are you so happy about?" she asked.

He was still grinning, which slightly unnerved her. "Well...for once, I know Tobias won't interrupt us."

"How...?" He was hiding something behind his back. What was it?

Inuyasha brought his hands out from behind him. He had a bundle of clothes that Kagome recognized as Tobias's. She wanted to get angry with him for doing that, but she could not hide the smile on her face.

"Inuyasha...you devil. When are you going to give them back?"

His grin, if that was possible, widened. "When we're through." He dropped the clothes and advanced on Kagome. She let out a small shriek of surprise when he caught her in a tight embrace, but soon her arms snaked around his back as well.

"This is probably the only time we'll ever get without Tobias barging in like he always does," whispered Inuyasha. "So let's make it count." Kagome giggled as he dipped his head and began kissing her neck. She pressed herself more fully against him, eliciting a groan from Inuyasha. She became bolder, and her hands crept up his back to rest between his ears. She began to lightly rub them, as she did before.

Inuyasha, sensing he was losing his dominance, brought his head back up and captured her lips in a bruising kiss. He was shocked when her tongue slid past his lips to rest in his mouth. When did she learn this? It had better be from me... Inuyasha caressed Kagome's back and arms as his hands wandered over her body. She let out a small moan at Inuyasha's roaming hands. Neither of them really noticed as they sank towards the ground, eventually with Inuyasha lying on top of Kagome.

Neither of them noticed Tobias, furiously muttering, wearing some large leaves; come flying into camp and collect his clothes and armor; either. He, however, was so caught up in the injustice Inuyasha had done him that he failed to see Inuyasha or Kagome, favoring instead to stare at the ground. He ran off again.

Inuyasha's passion-fogged mind barely registered that he was subconsciously rocking his hips against hers. Kagome seemed to be enjoying it, though. He sucked on her tongue before edging his into the sweet cavern of her mouth. Their tongues began battling for dominance. One of Inuyasha's hands slipped under her shirt and crept toward her bra.

"Kagome..." he mumbled. Now was the time, he would say it now, he would prove it to her now!"

"Y-yes?"

"I lov-"

"You know, if you wanted privacy, you could have asked." Tobias was standing at the edge of camp, looking disapprovingly at their...activity. Inuyasha's vision turned a stark shade of red, with anger blazing up in him as he hurriedly withdrew his hand. He leaped up, stormed towards Tobias, and punched him out.

Tobias staggered, took a few steps back, and fell. Holding a hand over his eye as he rose again, he muttered, "He really packs a punch." He stood up. "Well, one would say that I deserved that," he began.

WHANG!

Tobias found himself on the ground again, in quite a lot of pain and holding a hand over his bleeding nose. Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who was holding a large cast-iron cooking pot and looking absolutely livid.

"You deserved that too!" she shouted at Tobias. He was currently on the ground, trying to find out if his nose had been broken. Kagome gave an angry noise of frustration (A/N: you know, like you do when you're pissed off at something), threw down the pot, and stomped back to her pack.

"Agony..." moaned Tobias.

Inuyasha stared at her with curiosity. She turned to him.

"What? I'm mad at him too!" She snatched up the pot and started cooking breakfast. Inuyasha threw his head back and howled with laughter at Tobias, who was struggling to get up without bleeding too much. Tobias gave him a death glare.

"You're a riot, you know," he said shortly.

Inuyasha leaned close to him and whispered. "This makes up for all your laughing when I had to spend the night with Kagome and she was in heat." Inuyasha straightened up, walked over, and sat next to Kagome near the fire. He gave her a small kiss on the cheek. She giggled as she poured out the instant ramen.

"Ramen again?! Dammit. Don't you have anything else?" Kagome shook her head at Tobias's frustration. "Fine. I'll go find something myself then." He started to walk away, then stopped and turned back. "That is, assuming I don't faint from blood loss." He left.

Inuyasha started getting all flirty with Kagome again, nibbling at her neck as she cooked the ramen.

"Inuyasha..." said Kagome in a breathy voice, then regained her composure. "Not now. You know that if we do, Tobias is gonna come back two seconds later and say he forgot something." Inuyasha growled quietly but sat back down.

Five seconds later, Tobias walked back into camp. "Forgot my wrist guards," he muttered. He clamped them on, then left again. Kagome looked at Inuyasha as if to say "I told you so." The egg timer dinged and Kagome served the ramen. Inuyasha slurped down his and Tobias's.

A few minutes later, Tobias came back into camp. He had a bowl of rice, fish, and vegetables and was eating from it with some chopsticks. Kagome stared at him.

"Where did you get that?" Tobias's mouth was full, and he swallowed before responding.

"I don't know. Some guy." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

"You mean some guy just walked up to you and handed you that food?" he demanded.

"No. I got it from the village."

"But the village was dest-" Kagome caught herself as she saw a pained look come over Tobias. He shook it off in a second, though.

"Not that village. The other one." He ate some more.

"What other village? There isn't one for twenty miles," Inuyasha said, puzzled. Tobias paused and looked at Inuyasha.

"Oh. It's that far? I didn't know, I just ran."

"You ran forty miles in half an hour?" Kagome asked.

"I run fast." He finished the bowl. "I was hungry." Tobias tossed the bowl away. He walked over. "Are you two finished yet? I want to get on the open road again." They packed up their stuff, and eventually started walking through the forest again.

"So tell me, Inuyasha," remarked Tobias as they went through the trees. "I know about Naraku, Miroku, and Sango. Any other notables I should hear about?"

"Well, there's Shippo. He's a little fox demon and a real brat." – "Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. – "We left him with a group of fox demons that were willing to take him in a few months ago, so I don't think you'll see much of him. And then there's Myoga. He's a flea demon who's a coward. He only shows his puny face when there's nothing dangerous around."

"Go on, go on." Tobias seemed interested.

"And there's a few more people," continued Kagome. "There's Koga, a wolf demon who thinks I'm his...his woman." – "He'd change his tune if he saw you two." "What was that?" "Nothing..." – "Sesshomaru, who's Inuyasha's older brother. He keeps trying to kill Inuyasha and get the Tetsusaiga."

"It's a very nice sword," agreed Tobias.

"Then there's Kikyo. With her...it gets sort of complicated. I'm her reincarnation from the future – well, the future of this place, anyway. She was the guardian of the Shikon jewel and now, I am. She died fifty years ago, but came back somehow and is wandering around these woods. She's a miko, like I am, and she also uses a bow." Kagome had carefully omitted all the information about Inuyasha's relationship with her, so as not to create more havoc and possibly get Inuyasha upset. Tobias grimaced.

"Don't tell me...she puts a special spell on her arrows that paralyzes whoever they hit."

Kagome was confused. "Yeah...sometimes...how did you know?"

"Oh...just a hunch." Tobias slowly leaned forward and fell on his face. An arrow stuck out of his back.

"Tobias!" shrieked Kagome. She rushed to him, but halted at the sight of a raven-haired undead miko, holding a bow.

"So," said Kikyo in a silky voice. "There's someone else tagging along you two. He didn't even see me coming. What a shame. Now he's gone and died."

To Kikyo's astonishment, Kagome's face shone with defiance as she glared at the undead priestess.

"No, Kikyo! I know he's not dead. He won't die that easily!" Kagome stooped down and lifted Tobias's head. His eyes were glassy and blank. She let go of him, and his head fell back down. Kagome stood up.

"What did you do to him? He was my friend!" she shouted.

"He means nothing," said Kikyo shortly. "What is important..." she walked around Kagome to come close to Inuyasha, "...is you."

Through all of this, Inuyasha had not moved even an eyelash. Everything seemed to be happening at once. The destroyed village, Kagome and him doing...that, and now Kikyo's appearance. But as Kikyo closed in on him, he swallowed hard but remained where he was.

Kikyo lifted her hand to lightly caress Inuyasha's face. "What's the matter, Inuyasha?" she whispered. "Upset about your friend? He doesn't matter. All that matters is me...and you." She lifted her other hand to cup Inuyasha's face in her hands.

"K-Kikyo..." Inuyasha began. "I..." his voice failed him. Past Kikyo, he could see Kagome glaring daggers at him. The nerve of him! she thought furiously. After all we did this morning, now he's going to go run off with her! I thought he had gotten past her!

"Kikyo..." Inuyasha began again. "I...this morning...I think...Kagome..." Kikyo's face turned sour, like she had just swallowed a lemon.

"That stupid girl is nothing but a copy of me," she hissed. "A mere replica. Why bother with her when you have me?" Her face turned soft again. "Come with me, Inuyasha," she whispered. "Come with me to hell, and we can be together forever."

"I-"

"Kikyo, you made four mistakes just now," came a voice from behind the whole deal. Tobias was on his feet again, and looked thoroughly pissed off. "The first one, trying to seduce Inuyasha when both him and I know full well he and Kagome were making out this morning by the fire."

Kikyo let go of Inuyasha and whirled furiously around to glare at Tobias. "You!" she shouted. "I shot you! What happened?" She glanced backward at Inuyasha. "I'll talk to you about her later," she growled.

"Well, that brings us to your second mistake. Before you shoot someone with an arrow..." Tobias reached one arm behind his back and tugged at the arrow still lodged in there. "Make sure that person isn't wearing armor." He pulled out the arrow and threw it away. "You didn't even penetrate. But that goddamned spell still took effect. Which leads me to your third mistake.

"Your magic is strong, yes, but I have a stronger one." He pulled out his sword slowly, so that the morning sun gleamed off of it. "Then there's the fourth mistake." He lowered his voice. "Just because someone is paralyzed doesn't mean he can't hear anymore. You're trying to seduce him and it won't work."

Kikyo's face had turned ugly. "What do you know about these matters?" she spat. "You didn't know that we were together for years before she found him?" Kikyo angrily indicated Kagome with one hand.

"Yeah, well, that was then and this is now." Tobias unsheathed his sword. "But I haven't forgotten about you shooting me with an arrow. That's something I tend not to forget. So unless you can come up with a really good explanation, I-" Tobias looked down to see another arrow stuck in his unarmored shoulder. "Well, fuck," he croaked before he passed out again.

Kikyo broke into an evil smile. "There. Now maybe he'll finally stay down for long enough...for us to have a nice trip." She took Inuyasha's hand.

"NO!" cried Kagome. She rushed Kikyo and, summoning her miko powers, blasted her with energy. Kikyo was stunned and flung off of Inuyasha. Kagome whipped out her bow and pulled an arrow to the taut string, but she felt a clawed hand stopping her from releasing it. "Inuyasha!" she snapped. "Let go!"

"Don't hurt her!" growled Inuyasha. "I promised to protect her." Kikyo got up off the ground, her evil grin firmly in place.

"Thank you, Inuyasha, for holding that bitch off me long enough...for me to defend myself." A rush of purple energy streaked out of Kikyo's outstretched palm and slammed into Kagome with devastating force. Kagome lay sprawled out over the dirt. It felt like a truck had hit her when Kikyo blasted her. She had broken at least two ribs, and Kami knows what else.

"Inuyasha..." she said weakly. She tried to get up. Inuyasha stood frozen like a statue. The two women he cared about were attacking each other, what could he do? He couldn't bring himself to harm either one.

"Just a moment, love," sneered Kikyo. "Let me take care of a little...problem, then we can go to hell together." She released his hand and strode over to the fallen Kagome. Kikyo planted a foot on Kagome's chest, making Kagome cry out in pain.

"I don't know why I've never done this before," she smirked. "I can finally get rid of you now."

"But you won't." Tobias was back on his feet. If he had been mad before, now he was absolutely livid. His sword was glowing. "You will not harm her. You will let her go, and you will never sully her presence with your undead filth ever again." Kikyo snorted.

"Big talk," she said. "But both of us know how to keep you down." Kikyo nocked an arrow and let it fly. It landed right in the middle of Tobias's forehead. His head snapped back, then came forward again. Tobias had a horrible grimace on his face.

"That hurts," he breathed. "But I'm not falling for that again." He held his sword in one hand and grasped the arrow shaft with the other. With a grunt of pain, he tore the arrow from his head. Tobias clenched the arrow in his fist, and it burst into flames and dwindled to ashes. He grasped his sword with both hands and began walking slowly towards her, his head wound already healing.

Kikyo was surprised at his resilience, but recovered quickly. She spread both hands, and a hazy barrier sprung up to block Tobias's progress. He smashed a punch into the barrier, but it held. With a roar, he swung his sword with all his might. The barrier shattered and dissipated.

"Your tricks will not hold me," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Nothing will save you now." He advanced and brought his sword down on Kikyo's head.

Only it never got there. Tetsusaiga blocked its progress. Tobias glared at Inuyasha.

"What are you doing?" he growled. "Get out of the way, so I can kill this bitch!"

"I won't let you hurt her," Inuyasha said defiantly.

"Let me get this straight. She shoots me with three arrows, she blasts Kagome, she tries to drag you off to hell and I can't hurt her?!"

"Y-Yes." Inuyasha did not waver.

"And why not?" roared Tobias. Inuyasha opened his mouth as if to speak, then shut it again. He couldn't think of why. I swore to protect her, but at the cost of Kagome's life? This isn't fair. I can't...I don't know. What can I do?

Kikyo began to drift away on the wind. "When you have finally discarded this fool, I will be waiting for you, Inuyasha," she called out as she left.

"NO!" howled Tobias. His sword's glow increased and he sent Inuyasha flying with his increased power. He rushed to where Kikyo had stood, but there was only emptiness. Tobias snorted. A tiny little flame curled out of his nostril. He slowly sheathed his sword, then stared off into the distance.

"That psycho bitch," he snarled. "If she ever shows her face around here again, I'll cut her to pieces." He turned and came to Kagome in a few quick strides. "Kagome," his voice softened. "Are you all right?"

Kagome shook her head. She was bleeding, and great ugly bruises had appeared all over where she was hit. Tobias closed his eyes for a minute, then turned to Inuyasha.

"Can you defend the two of us for a few minutes?" Inuyasha snapped back to reality and gave an assertive nod.

"Of course I can. I've been defending her since the day I met her."

"Good. Kagome, take this." Tobias drew out his sword and placed it in Kagome's hands. As she grasped its handle, she felt a most peculiar tingling sensation build up in the areas where Kikyo had blasted her. Kagome peeked under her collar and saw that the bruises were fading and the cuts were closing over, although slowly. She looked back up at Tobias questioningly.

"You know this sword grants healing powers. But it grants them to whoever possesses it at the time. You are currently possessing it, so you have the powers." Kagome seemed a little frightened.

"But what about your injuries? Kikyo shot you..." Tobias had a flat expression.

"Yes, I know. But the healing sped up when my power increased just then. And besides, I have a healthy constitution even without that sword. When you feel okay again, give me back the sword." He stood up, walked away, and leaned against a nearby tree. "This shouldn't take but a minute," Tobias remarked. His next words caused both Inuyasha and Kagome to wince.

"And when we're done here, you can tell me all about that bitch and you two. I feel I was denied some need-to-know information here."

I'm not sure exactly what I can get away with and still keep a PG-13 rating. I try to do some research, looking up similar stories, but EVERY BLEEDING ONE is either an AU or Sess/Kag. WHAT MORBID FASCINATION DO PEOPLE HAVE WITH PAIRING UP SESSHOMARU AND KAGOME? Such stories violate my moral code and I refuse to read them. So I'm basically flying blind here. If I've gone too far, inform me, or perhaps the most esteemed FanFiction.Net folks will do it for me. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW you get the idea.