Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the Inuyasha characters created by Takahashi, Rumiko. (Sorry I just felt like doing that...) Rumiko Takahashi owns them...legally.

Allllright! Par-tay! Whoot whoot! I am on Chapter 3! -Pops open a balloon, confetti flying all over her laptop- Thanks again to everyone who helped me and to all of you who reviewed! This is a really long chapter so all of ya'll who like long chappys are in luck!

I am now putting author's notes in the fanfiction with italics and parentheses so don't get messed up!

Now on with the show! -blows on a freaky looking horn-

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Ch. 3

Apologies Accepted...?

Inuyasha snuck stealthy out of the well again and the sun had already risen. He got out and dusted himself off just in time to have a furry orange ball leap on his shoulder.

"Hi, Inuyasha!" Shippo said eagerly as he sat on his shoulder. Inuyasha glared at the little kitsune and scowled as Shippo sat on his shoulder blade.

"So, Inuyasha, where's Kagome?"

Silence.

"Hell-oooooo? I thought you went to go ge-"Inuyasha irritably picked up the kitsune by his bushy tail and dropped him head first on the ground. He crashed into the ground and got up, big fat tears in his eyes, whimpering, "Owwww...Inuyasha is MEAN!" He got up and ran to Sango who was sitting on a nearby log, accompanied by a lecherous monk. Kirara was napping at the demon slayer's feet and stirred a little when Sango picked him up and asked Inuyasha inquisitively,

"So...did you go to get her?"

"NO!"

Miroku asked, "So why did you go?"

Inuyasha didn't answer and 'Feh'-ed, walking through the woods again. Sango sighed. She was just tired of all of this nonsense. "Why does this always happen? Can't he admit that he wanted to see her again? How stupid..."

"Well, it's difficult for him." Miroku responded slowly. "He's had an odd past. A woman who he loved tried to execute him, tricked by Naraku. She wanted him to be human, not loving him for who he was. His mother died and his half-brother is out to slay him. It's extremely difficult to show his true feelings...like I can."

Sango looked at the monk and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean, Miroku-sama?"

He gave her a warm smile and replied lovingly, "I told you how I felt about you, didn't I?" Sango blushed slightly and looked down at her hands in her lap, not answering. He continued, "So Sango..." He held her hands and she looked down at them, shocked (Kirara awoke from her sleep near Sango's feet and started to hiss, but everyone seemed to ignore her.). His huge rough hands seemed to swallow her soft delicate ones. He squeezed them slightly and her face started to become hot again. He leaned down and gently put his lips to her hands. To her surprise she didn't fight back.

She got shivers down her spine as she thought 'Am I really-?'. Her thoughts interrupted by Miroku's deep soothing voice gently coaxing as he said "...How do you feel about me?"

She looked up to find herself staring into his eyes. His intoxicating violet eyes, flecked with small bits of cobalt. Absolutely hypnotizing...

She suddenly found her looking at his eyes through half-shut eyes, leaning forward...slowly. Miroku smiled warmly and was doing the same. The inches closed between them slowly, but steadily. Three inches...two...one...

"You know I'm still here, right?" Shippo asked as he popped up in between the two.

"Iieeeeeee!" Sango screamed as she slapped Miroku, blushing furiously. She quickly picked up her boomerang bone and stomped away, Kirara triumphantly skittering by her side. Miroku rubbed his bruised cheek and thought to himself mischievously, "Wellll...Now this is interesting. Sango seems to feel the same..."

"Miroku, what'ya grinnin' for? You're starting to scare me..." Shippo interrupted slowly, trying to stifle his laugh. Miroku finally lost it and poor Shippo finally go what was coming to him.

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Inuyasha stared at the tops of the dark trees anxiously for the sun had long set. 'When will she be back...? That wench is our only way of finding the shards!' Inuyasha 'Feh'-ed inside his head, his silver hair blowing gently with the passing wind. His leg dangled off of the side in a lazy way, swaying casually, his arms were crossed against his chest and he had taken off his haori, hanging it carelessly on the wide branch because of the heat. 'Kagome is always complaining, whining, raging and crying so maybe I should be happy for the peace and quiet...' He leaned back a bit and enjoyed the silence...for a while.

Inuyasha hit himself mentally and thought, utterly annoyed, 'Damn! I can't stop thinking about her! Where is she?! Why should I be worried about her...Wait, I'm not worried! Not one bit! Hell, I don't care if she's at home doing her hometurd from bool (homework from school --'. Inuyasha is very inmodern sometimes...) or with that Hobo guy...'

Inuyasha bared his fangs slightly as he thought angrily, 'How dare he touch her?! I gonna kill him...eventually. Why did she let him? Why couldn't she just push him away or slap him like Sango?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?!? I bet she would if I did that to her..." He blushed slightly as he countered, 'I would never do that! Why would I want to touch a sniveling, weak, dumb...brave...kind-NO! I would NEVER DO THAT! Even if she did, I would pull back...' Inuyasha convinced himself as he relaxed again.

Kagome had made a huge difference in his life and he reluctantly accepted that fact. Without her, he would still be wounded by Kikyo's little 'assault', alone and stuck on a tree, sleeping. 'I hate to say it, but she make's me...happy...' he thought giving himself a small smile. 'I'm not alone with her here...maybe that's why I feel this way...' His eyes widened slightly as he sat up, sniffing the breeze.

"Kagome..." He growled as he jumped from the tree and dashed to the well. The wind hit his face furiously, his hair dancing over his shoulder, clothes rippling. He growled angrily as he got hit with leaves, twigs getting caught on his pants as if trying to prevent him from going on. Untangling himself, he ran full speed towards Bone eater's well. He could see the clearing coming closer...closer and he finally burst through the bushes and peered around anxiously. 'Where is she?! She was here...' He looked down the well and saw...nothing...the dark seemed to consume the bottom, creeping up the walls and stopping where the moonlight overtook. He sniffed the breeze some more and found nothing. Inuyasha hit his head gently thinking, 'I must be imagining that she is here...it's only been one day. She comes back after three or four, idiot.' He turned to leave, but looked hopefully at the well before stubbornly turning to return to his tree.

The sun had long set and Miroku, Sango and Shippo had made camp near the Goshinko tree, where Inuyasha had been pinned up like a piece of laundry (sorry, I had to put that in ). Sango returned with small dry pieces of fire wood and dumped them in front of Miroku. The monk was trying to start a fire using two pieces of rock, banging and scraping them together absolutely irritated, but like all men, he would not accept defeat so easily... Sango stared at him like he was insane until he looked up and said ever so nicely, "Why, Sango. You have returned. I was just going to check on you."

She raised her eyebrows and snorted indignantly, "Of course you were..." She moved closer to where he was crouched and sat down next to him. He started to bang the rocks again until Shippo popped out of a bush and whined, "Would you stop?! I'm tryin' to sleep here..." Miroku looked at the drowsy kitsune with amusement and kept on working with his caveman tools. Shippo sighed, giving up and dragged Miroku's mat into the woods. He would try to get his sleep somewhere a little less noisy. He ran after the kitsune, grabbed the mat and headed back to the fire pit.

"Houshi-sama-" She stopped when Miroku looked at her in a tired way as he sat down again. "I-I mean Miroku-sama, aren't you tired of hitting those rocks together? I mean, it's not going to start a fire."

Miroku stopped for a moment and answered, "Lady Sango, the striking of the rocks creates sparks, if you hit them hard enough." Sango intervened, "Let me try..." She reached for the rocks and grabbed them out of his hands. Looking at them for a moment, she tossed them over her shoulder.

"W-wait! I spent hours searching for those!" Miroku said as he went to go retrieve the worn rocks. He returned a couple seconds later to find a full fire going in the fire pit, Sango sitting and toasting some omochi (rice cakes). He was aghast as he made his way to the fire.

"Sango...how did you-"Sango absentmindedly plucked an omochi off of the stick, popped it in her mouth, and held up a small paper square. She turned to face him and opened it up reveling sticks that were colored red at the end. A black strip was on the back of the package. She swallowed the rice cake and replied, "Kagome gave me this magic box that makes fire. It's very interesting..." She pulled a stick from the pack and struck it against the black strip. A hissing sound was followed by a small dancing flame. Miroku frowned as he went close up to the stick, curious. A horrible smell was emitted. Miroku, shocked, grabbed the stick from Sango and stepped on it furiously.

"Miroku! What ARE you doing?" Sango yelled as she grabbed his robes, shaking him. He straightened up and said seriously, "I think it is evil. It emitted a bad aura and is dark magic!" Sango stared at him weirdly as she said unsurely, "Riiiiight...But why would Kagome give it to us then?" Miroku shrugged and decided to change the subject. "Where's Inuyasha? I haven't seen him since the well incident..."

Sango tilted her head. Suddenly, it all came back to her. She blushed lightly and said with a straight face "I have no idea...maybe he's thinking...?" She looked at him, feeling like she was actually observing him for the first time. His dark hair was pulled neatly back into a tiny ponytail, his eyes that beautiful violet...staring right back at her! His mouth curled into a wicked smile.

"Something you like?"

SLAP

Miroku was now imprinted with another reminder from Sango: Never get too friendly.

Suddenly, Inuyasha stepped into the camp; his face was set in its normal grumpy setting. He didn't speak a word to them and they just watched him climb the tree. Looking at each other, the two headed to sleep.

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A dusty green pack was flung up and over the side of the well. Small fingers crawled their way up and bright grey eyes looked over, scanning the horizon carefully before slowly climbing out. She knew where everyone was and she picked up the pack and headed towards the gang's camp. 'Well, I had to come back eventually...I hope Inuyasha didn't throw too much of a fit...'

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He looked up at the moon and saw her face, smiling at him. He looked away, blushing a cherry color and started to think again. 'I don't know what to do...I want her here again, but if she wants to be with that piece of shit, then she can be my guest. No more worrying about the pathetic human!..." He stared into the horizon again and hit himself mentally, 'You dumbass! Why don't you just tell her EVERYTHING! How you feel about her, you think about her...STOP TORCHERING YOURSELF, IDIOT!' He started to swing his leg lazily, thinking idly of the girl he thought he could never feel the same without. 'She makes me feel...warm...at home.' He felt triumphant at making himself believe that she would never come back, but then plummeted into a sort of depression.

Inuyasha was thoroughly confused. He had never felt this way about any girl before. Sure, Kikyo was there before, but this was different. She wanted to change him with the power of the Shikon Jewel into a human; she didn't like him the way he was naturally and truly. Kagome didn't care what race he was, whether he was a beast or a prince, she cared a lot for him and he knew it. He felt like if she was in trouble, he would die for her. When he looked at her, his heart thumped harder and he felt light headed, especially when she smiled at him. He felt dizzy when she was close to him, but he felt extremely satisfied too. To him, all he needed to survive was her. If she would stay with him forever, he could die happy. He wanted to far away from reality, away from the bloodshed and hurt, with her and live happily on a cloud...Inuyasha snorted as he scolded, 'You're becoming a weakling, idiot. Do you actually think that you'll get away from all of this?' He shook the feeling off and just started to think about Kagome only. 'Is she really happy with Hobo? Where is she now...?'

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Kagome walked quietly into the campsite, looking around suspiciously for a kitsune who might try to tackle her again. She saw Sango and Miroku sleeping, Sango's mat ten feet away from the monk's. She stepped delicately around Sango and Kirara, hearing her say mumble about Miroku keeping hands off of her butt, how he was a lecherous monk, and how he should not be so close. The monk was covered with a big piece of cloth and lay quietly, groping a big boulder that was next to him, grinning all the while. Kagome smiled at this, stifling her laughter. She dropped her bag by the now extinguished fire pit and sat down, stretching her legs.

'Where is Inuyasha...?' She thought glancing around and she finally locked her eyes on the gigantic tree and sheen ivory hair. She saw him lazily sitting on a wide branch, arms crossed, a leg dangling; his face showed that he was thinking very hard about something.

'What is he doing? Is...is he sulking?! I don't believe it; he is! His ears are pressed down against his head...but why? Why is he still awake? It must be about...2 A.M right now!' Kagome thought worriedly. She approached the tree slowly and looked up. After a few seconds, she frowned anxiously. He should have smelled her by now (that sounds weird --'.) and known that she was there. 'What's going on?...'

Inuyasha was thinking about his future with this girl. How could she love a beast like him? 'Sometimes I think that Kagome has no idea what she's getting herself into...but why do I feel this way? Can it be that I-'

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Hey, look down here!" He heard someone whisper furiously. He looked down without interest until he saw what was calling to him.

"Kagome...?" He whispered with astonishment. He straightened up and looked down, squinting a bit to make sure it was her. Her ebony hair was set on her shoulders, frayed a little by the passing wind. Her grey eyes showed worry, but they shined when they saw that he was alright. Her scent filled his head and he knew at once that it was her. Her mouth was curved into a small smile as she whispered loudly enough for both of them to hear, "I'm coming up!"

She grabbed onto a small branch and started to scale upwards, carefully placing her feet to avoid falling. Grab branch, pull up, place feet securely, grab next branch. That was her way of getting up to the height where Inuyasha was camping out. Inuyasha helped her up on the last branch and she plopped down next to him, staring.

"Feh, you came back..." Inuyasha started off.

Kagome looked at her hands, "Well, I had to come back eventually...We do have to find those shards." She looked into his amber eyes, hoping he would believe her...hoping that he wouldn't know that she came back because she had to see him again.

"Why so soon? I thought you were having...fun..." Inuyasha said with disgust as he avoided her eyes.

Kagome sighed and said quietly, "Inuyasha, I know you were there. Hojo didn't mean anything and I wasn't having f-"

"You're trying to tell me that that damned bastard accidentally put his hands on your thigh?! And when he tried to kiss you?!? I bet you enjoyed that!" He spat now glaring into her dove colored eyes, raising his voice a little only to be angrily shushed by Kagome.

She picked up his haori and tossed it in his face, whispering angrily, "What do you think I am? A slut? I didn't enjoy that, you idiot. I don't like him. He's just a fri-"

He grabbed the red cloth robe out of his face and countered, "Oh yeah? Well, how about-" Inuyasha changed his voice to sound high, annoying and absolutely aggravating. 'Oh, Hobo, I don't understand this one... Help me with this one too, please Hobo?' He changed his voice again. "What about that, eh?!"

Kagome blushed lightly as she answered through her teeth, "I wasn't like that, okay? He came to my house himself, I didn't invite him. If you cared to notice, I blocked him when he tried to make a move. You're just jeal-"Kagome stopped suddenly and grinned evilly. Inuyasha frowned as he tried to figure out what she was thinking. She grabbed his tendrils on the side of his face, yanked them forward gently, bringing his face inches away from her own and said. "You're jealous, aren't you, cute koi-inu?" (Koi-inu a puppy ).

Inuyasha yanked his hair out of her hands and bared his teeth growling, "I'm not a fucking koi-inu and I am NOT jealous! Why should I be? You both are stupid and weak, a perfect matc-"He stopped, now looking at Kagome's back. She was turned around, and he could hear her...crying?

"Um...Kagome...?" Inuyasha said unsurely. She turned around, tears shining in her eyes. He hated it when she cried, especially when he knew that he was the reason she was sobbing.

"Y-you're right, Inuyasha. I-I'm just s-stupid and w-w-weak!" She burst out sobbing, trying to wipe her flowing tears. Inuyasha patted her gently on the back, not knowing what to say. Suddenly she flung herself on him, crying on his shoulder. She clung on to his white upper robe like a leech, wrapping her arms around his neck. Hot tears fell like rain seeping through. Inuyasha hugged her back awkwardly whispering, "I'm sorry Kagome...I didn't mean-"She pushed him away and observed his face critically, tears still staining her cheeks. She looked away and said sadly, "You don't mean that...I can tell."

"Oh, yeah? How?" He asked challengingly, giving her a small grin. She stared at him as she choked, "Your eyes tell me."

His smile faltered as he pondered over these words. She shook her head to herself as she said quietly, "You never mean it. You keep doing it over and over again." She turned away from him, showing him her back as she pulled her knees up to her chin. "Pulling me down when you have a problem to worry about..."

He froze as he stared unbelievably at this girl in front of her. He didn't want to hurt her, it was just that his tongue was often faster than his brain (in other words, stupid Inuyasha...but I love him anyways. ).

"And I am sorry that you saw me that way. I don't feel anything for Hojo at all...will you forgive me?" She asked quietly.

Inuyasha didn't answer and just whispered annoyingly, "Feh..."

'Why is he like that? It's like he loves to make me feel bad and loves to see me cry...' Kagome thought as she tried with much effort to wipe the two rivers of tears off of her face but it didn't seem to help much.

Suddenly, two arms wrapped around her midriff and pulled her backwards. Startled, she started to fight back for a second but then she heard a gruff voice say, "Stop squirming. I won't hurt you, Kagome." Kagome stopped and felt her back bump against Inuyasha's chest. She was now sitting in Inuyasha's lap, surprised and happy at the same time. He held her gently, his arms still wrapped around her belly, his head rested on her right shoulder.

'Kagome, I am so sorry. I feel happy when I am with you. Please believe me Kagome. I care about you. Don't leave me.' He thought as he clung on to her as if for dear life.

She sat comfortably against him, her legs dangling from the branch, one on each side. He supported her around her waist and made sure she didn't fall as he put his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent. Cherry blossoms filled his senses as he breathed in. He was fond of her scent. It made him think of home...

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome said quietly.

"Hmmm...?" Inuyasha answered sleepily. She put her hand on one of his arms wrapped around her midriff and said jokingly, "Don't let me fall, okay?" He smiled lazily to himself and squeezed her slightly in response. A few moments passed when Inuyasha finally said, "Kagome?"

There was no answer.

'She's probably listening.' He thought as he continued, "I want to tell you how I feel about you...I care about you very much and...I want you to be by my side..." He spread his haori on top of them as a blanket.

Silence filled the air.

He finally looked at her face and saw that she was sleeping. 'What a bitch! Just when I was going to tell her something important...' He looked up at the moon, its delicate rays shining through the leaves creating random splotches of light on them. He leaned his head against the rough bark of the tree's trunk as he thought, 'Oh well. I guess I'll tell her when the time is right...'

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Woo-wee! That was a long chapter (well in word doc. With Comic Sans MS, it's 10 pages!)! Hey but don't worry; THIS IS NOT THE END! I am planning to continue at least till chapter 5, but with LOTS of reviews, I will go further. I think I deserve a thank you letter, yes I do. Well, please R&R (I finally figured out what that means!). School starts in about three days sob so I will not be able to post the chapters so fast. Please be patient and all sorts of encouragements are greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone and I hope to get the next chapter up as soon as possible .

Ja ne!