You only got one shot, an inuyasha fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters!! I may absolutely love them, but I am not their creator. I wish I was, but I'm not, so I don't own them!!

You only got one shot

Kagome sat up. Inuyasha was sitting a few feet away, sitting in the dark. He looked at her when she had woken up. Mirouku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala where still asleep. "What are you doing up?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome whispered back to him, "I just had this wierd feeling that something is going to happen. Something big." She looked at him. He shrugged.

"If something was wrong, I think I would have sensed it," he replied, slightly annoyed. "Go back to sleep." Kagome lied down, feeling Inuyasha must be right, but she still had a worried feeling that wouldn't go away. She should have paid more attention to that feeling.

Kagome woke up again, but this time it was early morning, so she stayed awake. Everyone else was asleep. She looked at Inuyasha, sprawled on the ground, the Tetseiga laying in arm's reach. He looked peaceful in the sunrise, with a vague smile on his face. She wondered why he was so happy, but she stopped when she heard something behind her. A huge demon was about to attack her. Her eyes got wide, but she was too scared to move or scream. The demon lifted his arm, ready to strike, and BAM!

The demon's head rolled off, Inuyasha standing behind it. He hadn't even used the Tetseiga. He called to Kagome, "Why didn't you wake me up?" Kagome simply said it didn't matter, since he woke up anyway. Inuyasha frowned at her carelessness, then laughed. Kagome was confused. Inuyasha noticed and said, "I saw you, you were too scared to move."

Kagome yelled at him, "Sit, boy!" Inuyasha collapsed into the ground, looking angry. She continued, "Not everyone has demon strength and agility, Inuyasha!" She looked behind her, and the others had woken up. They stared at Kagome, then laughed.

"What did he do this time, Kagome ?" Sango asked. Kagome frowned. Now that she thought about it, she was sorry for what she had done. She ran to Inuyasha and helped him up.

As Inuyasha stood up, Kagome spoke. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I shouldn't have done that. You helped me. I guess I was just sleepy. I'm really sorry."

Inuyasha saw the others were speechless at Kagome's apology. "Yeah, well, you shouldn't have-," he stopped when he looked at Kagome. He could tell she really was sorry, and he replied, "Its okay. I shouldn't have said that." Kagome smiled and hugged him. He was surprised. She even surprised herself. The others just stared, bewildered by it all. They saw the others staring and quickly stopped hugging, pretending it had never happened.

After they all ate, Kagome sensed a Shikon Jewel shard. The others followed, as she led them towards it. Inuyasha wanted to run ahead, but since Kagome was the only one who could sense them, there was no point. So, of course, he did.

The shard was getting closer, and Inuyasha was growing more restless. Kagome could feel that the shard was really close. It was about two feet away, one foot, and. . . .it was gone! Kagome couldn't sense it anymore. "Well, Kagome, which way is it?" Inuyasha asked impatiently. Kagome looked around.

"I can't sense it anymore." Kagome explained to him. "I sensed it right there just a second ago." Inuyasha jumped where she had just pointed. He searched everywhere for anyone, but he never found anyone, except a very frightened Shippo.

Kagome looked at the sky and gasped when she saw how dark it was. "Guys, remember what I said last night? About today?" She asked. Inuyasha's eyes got wide. He just remembered. Kagome was going back home today! He jumped in front of her, blocking her from leaving. She squeezed past him and tried to walk by. He jumped in front of her again. "Inuyasha, you knew I had to go home today! I have to go to school tomorrow!" She pleaded. "I have work to do. If I'm not home soon, my family and friends might worry."

Inuyasha thought to himself "When you're gone, I always worry." She looked at him pleadingly and Inuyasha sighed. "Okay. I'll walk you down." Kagome smiled. She said bye to the others. They didn't come because "walking" her back probably meant running so fast she could hardly keep up, and because they wanted to try to find they wanted to try to find the shard, even though they all knew it was basically impossible to find the shards without Kagome. As they figured, Inuyasha took off running, Kagome struggling to try to keep up.

"Inuyasha," she cried "Slow down!" And to her surprise, he did. He actually stopped and waited for her. They were out of sight of the others by now. When she caught up, Inuyasha didn't run. He walked with her. They walked beside eachother, not saying a word.

Inuyasha broke the silence. "So, Kagome, when are you coming back?" He asked her.

She replied, "I'm coming back on the weekend, maybe sooner, but only to visit for a few hours, then. I have to stop missing so much school." Inuyasha and Kagome both sighed as they walked up to the well. They quickly said goodbye, and Kagome jumped into the bone eaters well, on her way back home. She climbed out of the well, back in her own time.

"Kagome, you're back!" called out her little brother, Sota. Kagome smiled, and walked inside with him. When she got inside, her mother hugged her. "I'm glad you're back." She said. "We were just about to eat dinner. Come on, lets go eat." As they ate, Kagome thought about when she was going there next time. The weekend seemed so far away. She hoped to go sooner, but she knew Inuyasha would try to keep her from leaving again. Kagome ate her dinner happily. Her mother's cooking was so good! Kagome went up to her room and flopped on her bed. It was so soft! She tried doing her homework, but her thoughts kept straying to a furry eared someone. . .

After her homework was finally done, Kagome went to sleep. She did have school tomorrow, after all. But, even with the wonderful food, beds, and just being able to do what she wanted, she still missed the feudal era.

She woke up to the annoying "Beep" of her alarm. She shut it off and got ready for school. When she was walking to school, she heard someone shout her name. "Kagome!" she turned. It was her friends from school. Kagome waved at them. "Hey, Kagome. You're feeling better?"

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, I feel alot better." She didn't say much more because she didn't know what sickness her grandfather had told everyone she had caught this time. She smiled. She was glad to be back, but she still couldn't wait for the weekend. Her classes passed uneventfully. When lunch came, Kagome talked with her friends.

"So, Kagome, we're sorry. You must have a very boring time alone and sick all of the time. " "We came to your house, but your mom said you were getting a treatment." "So we left." Explained her friends, each putting in her own part.

"Oh, well even if you did come again, I probably wouldn't have been there. I was hardly there." Kagome replied. She saw their faces had worry in them. "Oh, I wasn't sick the whole time, this weekend, I was actually having fun."

They stared at her. "Then where were you all weekend? You weren't at home. Sota told us. Were you with that guy, Inuya-"

BBRRIINNGG! The bell had rung. Kagome wasn't too interested about them talking to them about Inuyasha. They kind of thought he was a two timing, possesive jerk, who was driven by jealousy. She ran to her next class, yelling "See ya later!" to her friends.

After she went to her last classes, Kagome sighed. She missed her friends while she was gone, but she was here, and she didn't want to finish that conversation. She would never be able to explain how Inuyasha was a nice guy, without explaining about the feudal era and demons. She worried that her friends would become scared of Inuyasha because of his demon blood, or they just might not believe her.

Inuyasha was sitting alone in the grass, absent mindedly staring into space. He couldn't wait for Kagome to come back. He hoped she could come back before the weekend. He didn't understand what was so important about school. Why did she even have to go? He sighed. He thought about how they had almost fought the day before, but she had apoligized to him. He remembered how he was going to fight, but saw her saddend face, and forgave her. Then he apoligized. And then, after the apologies. . .

They both thought about it at the exzact same moment. The Hug. It seemed so perfect. They wanted so bad to be together. Just to know that they were near eachother. . .

When school finally let out, Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to go to the feudal era. She had too much work, and she was exhausted. She wished she could go. Inuyasha, in his time silently wished the same thing. He stood up. If she might not be able to come to him, he would go to her. He jumped in the well. He crawled out of the well and into Kagome's time. He ran up to the house and called out her name. Kagome's mom heard him. "Hello, Inuyasha. She's not here now, she is still at school. Would you like to wait for her?"

Inuyasha replied, "No, it is okay, I am just going to find her." He was ready to speed off, when Kagome's mom stopped him. She handed him a plain baseball hat, explaining he could cover up his ears. As he left, Kagome's mom wondered, "Does he even know where he is going?"

Kagome started walking home, alone. She thought if she got her work done quickly, maybe a quick visit. But she was still tired. She was in deep thought when she heard someone yell, "Kagome, is that you?" she turned. He face brightened up when she saw the smiling half demon standing there. Inuyasha said, "I knew it was you, I could tell." He inhaled her scent with his doggy nose. She smiled.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. Inuyasha could tell by her tone she was extremely happy. He said he wanted to see her and told her about what had happened at her house. He pointed at the baseball hat.

"Kagome?" she turned again. It was her friends. "Kagome, who is that?" they asked. Kagome smiled and introduced them to Inuyasha. They immediatly changed their view of him.

Kagome sighed and told her friends, "He came all this way just to see me." Her friends seemed happier at this, but they still didn't trust him. After they left, Inuyasha started walking Kagome slowly home, just enjoying each other's company. Inuyasha thought, "I have to do this again soon." They walked all the way to Kagome's house. When they got there, Kagome invited him to go sit by the pond. He agreed, and they sat next to each other on the bench.

Since Kagome was so tired, she started to fall asleep when she was about seconds away from falling asleep, she absent mindedly leaned over and fell asleep on his shoulder. Neither one wanted to move. They stayed like that for an hour, even though Kagome woke up after a couple minutes.

When it started to get dark, Kagome jumped up. She hadn't done any of her homework. She told Inuyasha, and pulled out her math book. He watched, he was confused by the wierd equations. It made no sense! But Kagome solved it quickly, and soon she was almost done. He was glad she was so smart, and could get it done quickly. She stopped, and stared at a question, obviously confused. "Whats wrong?" He asked.

Kagome looked up. "I don't understand. It makes no sense." she sighed. "I always had troubles with it. I've learned it a whole bunch of times. I always forget. I'm so stupid!"

"No you're not. You're the smartest person I know." He smiled at her. She smiled back. "I'd never be able to do it. But you're alot smarter. You'll figure it out." Kagome smiled sweetly at him. She looked at the question. She started writing. She had calmed her mind enough to remember. She smiled. She was done! She thought it would take alot longer. She started on her science homework. She smiled. She thought it would be hard. It was on different plants. She had learned about most of them in the feudal era. She finished quickly, and put her books away. She sighed and just sat next to Inuyasha. After it got dark, Kagome spoke.

"I have to go to bed soon, Inuyasha. I'm sorry, I'd love to stay here longer, but I have school again tomorrow. I'm sorry."

Inuyasha stood up. "It's okay, Kagome. I should be getting back too. Anyways, we spent alot of time here. Well, see ya later." He waved.

"Inuyasha, thanks. And it's not that I'm smarter, I just have been going to school." Kagome told him, remembering her math problems. Inuyasha turned away and smiled. He repeated the same thought. "I have to do this again soon." He leaned over to say goodbye. He looked around, and hugged her, and she was surprised by it, but immediately hugged back. Inuyasha and Kagome enjoyed the hug. They both also enjoyed that the hug kept Inuyasha was leaving.

Kagome laid in her bed, wishing Inuyasha was still there. She just sat there, thinking about him. She decided to close her eyes and try to get some sleep. She silently wondered what the others were doing. In the feudal era, Shippo was sleeping, Miroku and Sango were talking, Kilala was eating, and Inuyasha wasn't with them. He was out on a walk. He walked silently, sniffing for anyone, or anything. He was completely alone. He came to a clearing, the one with the Bone Eaters well. He sat on the well, thinking. All of a sudden, he jumped in. He came into Kagomes time, smiling. He quickly changed it into a frown. He thought, "What am I doing? She's probably asleep by now, anyway." Still, he didn't want to leave. He jumped on her roof. He climbed up to her window, and slowly looked in. She was lying in her bed. She was facing him, but her eyes were closed. Inuyasha just sat, watching her sleep.

Kagome sat up. She had been woken up by the radio turning on. She had knocked over the remote. There was a news commercial on.

". . .An escaped criminal, who broke out of prison last night, is not found.

This man is extremely dangerous. He is four foot six, brown eyes and dark

brown hair. He is known to be somewere in-. . ."

She reached the remote and shut off the radio. She stopped when she noticed someone sitting on her roof. "Inuyasha?" She called to him. "What are you doing here?"

Inuyasha jumped and silently cursed himself for falling asleep. "I - um, I must've been sleep walking." He lied. Kagome shook her head and laughed. She thought, "Hes such a bad liar. Almost like Grandpa." Inuyasha stared at her. "What's so funny? I was sleep walking!"

Kagome replied by changing the subject. "Inuyasha, thank you. I'm sorry I always have to leave the feudal era. And, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to protect she Shikon shards. They could be captured by anyone, and they would get so strong that they could easily do whatever they want. . ." She smiled. "I'm glad. Thanks."

In the back of the shrine, someone was watching the pair. He was listening to the conversation about the shards. He did not understand completely about it, but he figured he could take it, and he could get stronger. All he had to do was get the guy to stop protecting the girl. He stepped into the light, and the light glinted off his dark brown hair. He smiled cruely, and his brown eyes looked evil. He ran off, quickly formulating his plan.

Kagome ran to school. She woke up late, and she hoped she would get there in time. She had stayed awake for a long time, talking to Inuyasha. She had finally fell asleep, laying on the floor, next to the window. She ended up getting there just in time. The day in school passed eneventfully. When school let out, she couldn't wait to get home, so she could sleep. She rushed out of school. "Kagome!" Kagome turned, happy because she thought it was Inuyasha. She saw it was Hojo. She didn't want to be rude, so she smiled. "Kagome, do you think you can come have lunch with me on saturday?" Kagome frowned.

"Sorry, Hojo, but I can't. I ha-" She stopped when she looked past Hojo. Inuyasha was standing there, eyes as wide as saucers. She gasped. "Inuyasha. . ." She stared. She saw another guy watching them out of the corner of her eye. She ran straight to Inuyasha. She hugged him tightly. He was surprised, but no matter how angry or jealous he was, he still held her. He was oblivious to everything around him, he didn't hear or see, all he paid attention to was Kagome.

She limped. He looked down at her. She slowly looked up. Her eyes were clouded. He felt something warm spread over his hand. He sniffed, and to his horror, he smelled Kagomes blood. She quietly choked out his name. Her eyes slowly closed. He shook her and yelled out hr name. "Kagome, wake up, oh please wake up!" She didn't move. He looked at her back. There was alot of blood flowing from the wound. He looked around. He couldn't see who could've done it. Hojo ran up. He saw the wound in her back and his eyes widened.

"She needs help, now. Here, I have bandages and herbs in my pack. I'll try to help her." Inuyasha was worried, and he was preety scared when Hojo said he would try. Even because of that, he figured she had a better chance that way. Inuyasha laid his precious burden on the ground, next to Hojo. He checked her back, working silently. He quickly stopped the bleeding. Kagome wimpered, and Inuyasha hated anyone who had ever hurt her. He then vowed to take revenge on whoever had hurt Kagome. He would find out who it was. Kagome slowly opened her eyes. As she regained conciousness, she reached out her arm.

"Inuyasha?" She called weakly. He was instantly by her side. "Inuyasha, are you okay?" Inuyasha was so happy she regained conciousness. He was confused. He thought, "Why would she be worried about me? She's the one who was hurt." He quietly helped her sit up, and she leaned against him.

"Kagome, I'm fine. Are you okay? You're the one who was hurt." He was so glad she was awake and okay. Kagome snuggled closer to Inuyasha. She couldn't keep her eyes open, and she was so weak.

Hojo spoke up. "We should take her to the hospital. She's really weak and she lost alot of blood. We better hurry." Inuyasha was surprised, he had half forgotten Hojo was even there. He picked Kagome up and followed Hojo to the hospital. When they got there, Hojo talked to the doctor. "She was shot, as she was leaving school. I got it to stop bleeding, but the bullets still in there." Inuyasha was confused. What was a bullet? What was going on? He just wanted Kagome to be awake and okay. The doctor led them into a room. He told Inuyasha to lay Kagome on the bed. The doctor gave Kagome a shot to keep her asleep. He then asked Inuyasha and Hojo to wait in the waiting room, so he could operate on her. Inuyasha didn't want to go, and leave Kagome alone with the doctor, but he did.

In the waiting room, Inuyasha sat, wondering what was going on. His thoughts were interuppted. "So, how do you know Kagome?" Hojo asked. "You don't live around here, do you?" Inuyasha shook his head. How was he going to tell him how they met? He couldn't tell him he was magically bound to a tree by a sacred arrow and Kagome saw him there after she fell through a magic well.

"On her birthday, she got lost and ended up around where I live. She met me, and we hang out alot now." he explained, not going into too much detail, he was too worried. He looked at Hojo. "How did you meet her?" He didn't care, because he was still preety jealous. But since Hojo had helped her, he tried to be nice.

"I met her at school." He replied. Inuyasha thought sarcastically, "Of course, the wonderful school." Hojo continued, "But I don't see her much, because she's sick alot. I asked her out to a movie, but she didn't come. She was probably sick again." When Inuyasha heard "I asked her out" a new flame of jealousy sparked. Inuyasha looked away and stopped talking. He wondered Kagome. What if she died? What if she never woke up? What if she was permanantly disabled? What if she woke up and liked that guy? He didn't know how long he sat there for.

"You may come see Miss. Higurashi now." Inuyasha looked up. The doctor was standing in the doorway. Inuyasha leapt up, and ran to the room Kagome was in. When he came in, she was laying on the bed, sleeping. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up right next to the bed. Hojo walked in. He stood, leaning against the door. He cautiously walked further, and sat on a chair. After a few minutes, Hojo fell asleep. Inuyasha looked at Kagome. He felt guilt. "I should of protected her." he thought. Kagome moaned and rolled over. Inuyasha watched her closely. He thought to himself, "It was my fault. . ."

Inuyasha heard Kagome call him. He was by her side before he could blink. "Inuyasha, are you okay? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you? I was so scared." She said weakly. Inuyasha was confused again. He stared at her.

"Kagome, why do you keep asking? I'm fine. But what happened to you? You were fine one second, and then then the next. . ." He sighed. "you weren't. I didn't see anything happen." Once again, he blamed himself. Even if he didn't know what happened, he still had sworn to protect her. . .

She spoke. "It was a gun Inuyasha, I was shot."

"What's a gun?" he asked her curiously.

"It's kind of like a bow, and a bullet is kind of like an arrow. Only they're even more dangerous."

He looked at her, trying to picture it. He couldn't. "Wait, how did you know it was a gun?"

"I saw it."

"Why did you see it from where you were standing, but it hit you in the back?"

"I saw it before it was fired."

"Then why didn't you jump out of the way?"

"He wasn't aiming for me." She blinked. Tears were welling in her eyes. She hugged him and murmured quietly, "He was aiming for you." Inuyasha was shocked. He saw tears pouring down her face.

Inuyashas eyes widened. "You- you jumed in front of me." His eyes widened larger. She nodded. Tears rushed down her face. "Kagome, please don't cry. Everything will be okay." He thought, "I can't believe she did that. I was supposed to save her from everything. I didn't. I wasn't paying enough attention, that's why it happened. I failed her." She looked up at him with a tear streaked face.

"I was just so scared when he aimed his gun at you. You were just standing there, so unaware of any of it. I just wanted to help you." She could feel more tears coming on. She didn't want to cry, it was just remembering him being so sad, and picturing what could've happened. . . She started crying again. She buried her face into his shirt.

He hugged her. He hated seeing her cry. "Kagome, please stop crying. Just, why did you jump in front of me? I would've been able to take the pain alot more than you, because of my demon blood." Kagome sat up.

"Hey, I can take the pain too, Inuyasha!" She yelled at him. She was angry he didn't think she could take the pain. She already had.

"Kagome, I never said you couldn't take the pain. I know you could, you're strong for a human. It just made me so sad to see you hurt." She sighed.

"I know. I was just upset. And anyways, if it had hit you, it would've beeen worse. I can go to the hospital. You couldn't. Thet would find out about your. . ." She looked at Hojo sleeping behind her and whispered so he wouldn't hear, "demon blood." Inuyasha nodded. "And there would be no special guard dog to protect me." She joked. Before, Inuyasha would have started a fight about how he wasn't a dog, he was a demon, but now, he just couldn't. "Inuyasha, maybe I should go home now. My moms probably worried." He nodded. Kagome heard something behind her. Hojo was walking up to her. He looked at her.

"So, are you feeling better, Kagome?" Hojo asked. She nodded. She could tell he felt awkward with Inuyasha there. "Well, in that case, I'm going to go. I need to get home. See you later." He left. Kagome smiled sweetly as he left. She looked back at Inuyasha. He looked like he was mad, but trying to hide it.

"You shouldn't be jealous. I don't like Hojo." He looked up and smiled.

"I am not jealous!" He lied. He changed the subject. "I thought you wanted to go home." She nodded. Inuyasha was glad she didn't like Hojo. Kagome stood up. She was still very weak, mostly because loss of blood. She wobbled, but Inuyasha caught her before she fell. She didn't want to be carried, since she was awake, so she leaned on Inuyasha and walked slowly. Inuyasha looked at Kagome in deep thought. "Kagome, you saw the guy, what did he look like?"

Kagome strained her memory. "I don't remember very well, I saw him and ran, but I do remember he had dark hair and eyes. He looked preety short too." Inuyasha nodded, thinking. He was going to find that man and take revenge on him for hurting Kagome. . .

"Kagome, are you okay? You're late, and we heard someone was shot at your school." Sotas voice rang out as he ran up to her. "It was on the news." Kagome nodded. Sota looked at Inuyasha, and how Kagome was leaning on him. Sotas eyes widened. "It- it wasn't you, was it Kagome?" He looked up at her. Kagome nodded.

"It's okay, I'm fine Sota." She looked at her little brother. "And if it weren't for Inuyasha, I don't think I would be." She looked up and smiled at Inuyasha. He silently thought, "If it weren't for me, this wouldn't of happened in the first place." He looked sadly at her. "But at least she's okay." Kagome tripped a small bit, and Inuyasha wrapped his arm around her to keep her from falling. Kagome looked up at his face and saw he was blushing. She blushed back. They walked up to her house, Sota following, staring wordlessly.

Her mother ran up to them. She ran up to Kagome, asking if she was okay. She could obviously tell what happened to her daughter. Kagome walked in the house with her mother and told the whole story. When her story was over, Kagome was really tired. She walked up to her room with Inuyasha. Kagome layed down, and Inuyasha sat on the floor. They just sat there for a while, until her mom called up to them. "Kagome, your friends are here!" Kagome looked at Inuyasha. He stood up.

"Well, I'm going now, but I'll be back later." He smiled. He had taken the hat off somewhere, and Kagome wondered what her friends might think if they came in and there was a silver haired, puppy dog eared guy sitting on her bedroom floor. He waved at her, smiling. She waved back, both feeling like they had forgotten something. They heard a knock on the bedroom door. Inuyasha jumped on the roof and ran to the well, as Kagome opened the door.

"Kagome! We heard what happened. Are you okay? For once, you weren't sick, and then this happened! You have to tell us what happened!" Her friends blurted out. Kagome smiled. She told them the story, and it ended up taking up alot of time. When she had finished, one of her friends looked outside. "Wow, it got dark quickly, especially with the new moon." Kagome gasped and and stared at the sky. Her friends watched her curiously. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

"Nothing." She quickly replied, thinking, "It's the new moon! That's what I forgot. Inuyasha's in his demon form, probably sulking all alone." Kagome saw her friends watching her. "I just remembered something, but it doesn't really matter." She thought. "He's probabaly just in a bad mood." She turned back to her friends, and they just sat in an awkward silence. She heard her mother yell that dinner was almost ready. Kagome slowly walked stairs, her friends following her. When her mom saw her, she smiled.

"Would you like to eat outside? It's preety warm out." Kagome nodded. She liked eating outside, even if it was dark. She walked outside, and saw her mom worriedly watching her. They all got their food, and went to eat outside. They started eating, and Kagome and her friends were talking about school. Sota smiled and waved at someone behind his sister. Kagome turned, and was surprised when she saw Inuyasha was there, in his human form. Kagome smiled. Her friends watched him and leaned over to Kagome.

"Who is he?" They asked her. Kagome was surprised, then remembered that they only saw him in his demon form. How was she supposed to explain this? She looked at her friends.

"Um. . . its Inuyasha. . ." She told them. They looked at him, then back at her. They looked so confused.

"The one we met earlier?" Kagome nodded. "Then why is his hair black?" Kagome didn't know what to say. She looked at Inuyasha, he didn't know what to say either.

"Um. . . he, um, he temperarily died it." Kagome hoped they believed her. After all, they had believed her about everything else. They looked unsure, but nodded. Kagome invited Inuyasha to eat with them, and he smiled and accepted, staring hungerly at the food. He sat down, next to Kagome. She smiled to herself, then saw he was smiling and watching her. They continued eating, Kagome's friends asking Inuyasha various questions. Kagome, Sota, Inuyasha, Kagomes mom, and her grandpa all started making up answers, trying to keep their story straight. They tried to tell as much of the truth as they could.

The food quickly depleted, since, of course, Inuyasha was there. After dinner, it was getting dark, so Kagomes friends left. Kagome could tell Inuyasha wanted her to go back with him. Kagomes mom went inside, and Kagome smiled. "Inuyasha, do you want me to go back with you?" she asked. His face brightend up, but he looked at her and frowned.

"But, Kagome, you're still hurt." He looked sad and worried. "We won't be able to keep up with the demons." he added quickly. He was still too shy to show her that he was worried. Kagome knew how he felt, but didn't say anything. She nodded slowly. He looked at her cautiously, and then, as in deep thought, he shyly asked her, "Kagome, when it happend, were you scared? I mean, did it hurt?" He looked at her.

She looked at him, surprised. "Well, it did hurt. It hurt alot, but I didn't really pay attention to it. Um, and I was scared, really scared. I was afraid that. . . that I was going to die and never see you again, or that you would get hurt." She ducked down her head to hide her face, but Inuyasha could still see, and smell, a tear running down her cheek. He felt bad that he had made her cry, but she quickly wiped it away. "But we're both okay now, so we should be happy." She smiled up at him.

He blushed, but before he could respond, his ears twitched at an unknown noise. Kagome didn't notice. "Go away." He ordered her. She looked at him shocked, since she didn't know about the noise, but before she could protest or respond, he pleaded, "Trust me." She nodded, and backed up behind a tree. She saw a flash of color pass through a small clearing. Inuyasha's dark eyes narrowed. He crept past the tree Kagome was in, signaling her to be quiet. He crept past her, following the now dark figure. He leapt, and landed in front of the figure. He saw it was a human man, and very tall. He also had dark hair and eyes. Kagome gasped. It was the man who had tried to shoot Inuyasha earlier! Inuyasha ran towards the man, growling. "What are you doing here?" Inuyasha yelled.

The man sniggered. He looked around. The white haired man wasn't there. He smirked at the black haired Inuyasha. He turned around to where Kagome was. He walked up to the tree, which was the god tree, and Inuyasha ran in front of him. He shoved Inuyasha, and Inuyasha realized he was surprisingly strong, for a human. He was caught off guard, and he was human, so he hit the ground. The man quickly ran up to Kagome and reached down towards her neck. At the same time, Kagome's fist forcefully collided with his face and he was tackled by Inuyasha. Kagome was still weak, and she sank to her knees. Inuyasha was extremely angry about him going after Kagome. He looked at his face and realized he was the one who had shot Kagome. Inuyasha growled deeply within his throat and slugged him in the face. The man spat out blood, and cried out in pain. He punched Inuyasha in the nose, and it bled profusely. Kagome looked away, after seeing Inuyasha's blood. She had seen it before, but this time he was human, and it might not heal as easily, and she felt different about him now. Inuyasha felt his nose crack, but he didn't care. He continued to punch the man. Kagome's mom stepped out, and screamed when she saw the two bleeding men fighting on the ground, and her daughter on her knees, covering her face.

Inuyasha and Kagome both looked up. Kagome saw the blood on the ground, and realized what her mother had seen. Inuyasha looked behind him and the man was gone. He clenched his fists, quietly used some colorful language, and was going to run after him. He looked at Kagome. They locked eyes, and he unclenched his fists. He sighed, and walked over to her. "You okay?" he asked her. Kagome nodded. The man had touched her neck, and he wanted to make sure he hadn't hurt her. She touched her neck and gasped. "Where did it go?" Inuyasha asked. He had noticed the Shikon Jewel was gone! Kagome checked the ground by the tree, but she didn't see it. She looked all over the ground, and sighed a sigh of relief when she saw it where the two men had fought. Inuyasha picked it up off the ground and handed it to her. She smiled and walked over to her mother with him.

Kagome bit her lip and looked at her mother. "That was him." she simply said. Her mother nodded, and led her inside. They sat in the house for a while. Kagome the anounced she was going to sleep, because she was still tired and weak. Inuyasha looked out the window and thought, "He could come back. . ." He looked at Kagome, and she saw an angry, yet worried look in his dark purple eyes. She looked at her mother, who seemed to know what she was thinking, and nodded approvingly. Kagome looked at him, and shyly asked, "Do you have to go back for the night?"

He looked at her, confused. "No, I can do whatever I want." he nonchalantly said, shrugging. "Why?" He watched her curiously and she explained.

"Well, you can stay over, so you're not in the feudal era when you're human." she explained slowly. She then had an idea. "And you can eat here in the morning." Inuyasha thought about all of the foods Kagome always had. Inuyasha nodded, agreeing to stay the night.

"Okay, then I can be here in case that fu-," Kagome glared at him and he continued, "In case that guy comes back." She smiled. Kagome went up to her bed, telling Inuyasha he could sleep in a number of comfortable couches and extra beds, all of which he declined. He said it was still warm out and he could sleep outside. He also said that the trees seemed more comfortable anyway.

About three hours later, Kagome watched him from her bedroom window as she layed on her bed. He was up in a large tree, leaning on the branches. She could see one side of his face, his eyes were wide open, scanning the shrine below him. "Doesn't she ever sleep?" she thought. She giggled. Inuyasha heard her, and turned around. Kagome smiled widely, and waved vigurously. Inuyasha smiled and shook his head. "You're a wierd one, Kagome."

She giggled and sat up in her pink pajamas. "Thanks Inuyasha." She smiled goofily. Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh. Kagome yawned. She laid back in her bed. She curled up under her covers and turned on her side, so she was facing Inuyasha. "Good night, Inuyasha." She whispered. She closed her eyes.

Inuyasha whispered so quietly, he doubted she could even hear, "Good night, Kagome." He watched her silently sleep for a while, a pleasant smile spread across her face. He turned around after a while, and thought about the day. It was one of the worst and the best days of his life. He had seen that guy, Hobo, or whatever his name was, which made him sad and jealous. Kagome hugged him, which made him happy, until she was hurt. Then in the hospital, he was worried. When she was awake, he was relieved, when he ate with her, he was happy. He had protected her, but was it good he had protected her, or bad or bad he had let him get away?

Inuyasha was surprised the man was able to get away at all. He was hardly able to breathe when Inuyasha was fighting him. He remembered Kagome covering her face from the fight. Why had she done that? She never did it before. He thought so hard about this until his head hurt. He decided to just forget about it. He relaxed in the tree and decided to get some sleep. He leaned back, mind wandering over various things. He decided to follow Kagome's example of sleeping, only he slept lightly, in case anything happened.

Kagome's eyes snapped open. She laid in bed for a few moments before she remembered the day before. It seemed like a dream, but her back hurt horribly, so she knew it was real. She sat on the windowsill and saw Inuyasha was sleeping. He was back to his demon form. He had the same vague smile he had the last time she had seen him sleeping. She looked at her bedside table, and saw the Shikon jewel was still there. She watched Inuyasha and realized she trusted him more than she had ever trusted anyone. He slowly stirred, and turned around, seeing her. "Good morning, Inuyasha! Would you like some breakfast?" she asked enthusiastically. He nodded vigurously, and Kagome silently thought, "He looks like a bobble head doll." She giggled.

He jumped into her room and looked at her curiously. "What's so funny?" She shook her head and said nothing. She highly doubted Inuyasha would get it. She turned and walked slowly down the stairs. Inuyasha followed her slowly, watching her. She could see in her eyes that she was in alot of pain, and trying to hide it. He didn't know why she was hiding it, but he felt sorry for her. He would never forgive himself for letting that happen.

They went downstairs to eat, and Inuyasha didn't pay too much attention to his food, for once. He just thought about Kagome. She finished her food and started going through her text books. Her mom walked in. "Kagome, what are you doing?"

She looked at her mother. "I'm getting ready for school." Her mother looked at her like she was crazy.

"You can't go to school! Don't you remember what happened yesterday?!" her mom practically yelled. Kagome thought about saying something about missing enough school already, but her consience got the better of her. "She's just worried." she thought, "Oh well," she continued, "I can wait until monday." Since it was friday, this was the day she was suppeosed to go to the feudal era. Kagome looked at her mom, carefully choosing her words.

"Mom, can I go to the feudal era? I was supposed to gotoday, and I'll be careful." her mom looked worried. She looked at Inuyasha and agreed, telling her to be especially careful. Kagome looked at Inuyasha, and he looked deep in thought. Kagome stood up and got her stuff ready for the feudal era. After she was done, Inuyasha took the heavy backpack wordlessly. They walked to the well and Inuyasha told her to stay in her time, while he went to check the other time, to make sure no demons were at the other side of the well. "He's being really protective." she thought. He came back, telling her to jump. On the other side, Inuyasha picked her up and jumped out of the well with her. Kagome had put the jewel back around her neck, and she clutched it thinking about trust.

Inuyasha looked at her. "Do you wanna go find the others now?" Kagome nodded and walked next to him into the woods, to see if they were at Kaede's village. He looked at her could tell she was still tired and weak, but trying to hide it. She noticed Inuyasha watching her, and she looked up at him. Once she looked away from where she was walking, she tripped on a tree root. Inuyasha caught her before she hit the ground, and she held on to his shoulders and stood up. She looked into his bright golden eyes and smiled. He blushed when he noticed she was still holding his shoulders. She blushed, but didn't let go. She reached behind him and pulled a large twig out of his hair. She giggled and dropped it. She reached around again and Inuyasha looked at her. "Kagome, what are you-" he was cut off when she gave him a shushing look. He felt her feel around his neck until her hands came around to the rosary. She smiled at him and lifted it off. She smiled at him.

"You're free now." She smiled up at his happy eyes. He didn't reply, but smiled happily at her. They walked further. After a while, Kagome was fighting with her consience on Inuyasha. She looked down at her feet, and at the rosary still clutched in her hand. She looked at her empty hand, and swiftly slipped it into Inuyasha's. He looked down at his hand, holding Kagome's. He looked at her, her head down and silent. He reassuringly lightly squeezed her hand, and walked slowly, at her pace. They came to a small clearing and Inuyasha stopped. "What's wrong?" Kagome asked, seeing his nose and ears twitch. He stared out at the open ground and sniffed again.

"No," he whispered softly, "not now. . ." He lightly pushed Kagome back in the woods and told her to stay down. She was going to ask again, but Sesshomaru jumped into the clearing. She held back a gasp. "What are you doing here?" He yelled angerly. He growled at his brother.

Sesshomaru laughed, (in a somewhat evil way) and replied. "Whatever I want, brother. No one here can stop me." He smirked. "And I was coming to get was was rightfully mine." He eyed the Tetseiga. Inuyasha scowled. "Give it to me." Sesshomaru commanded.

Inuyasha growled, "Why should I?" He pulled out his sword in a fighting stance. "You're not in control of me." His eyes narrowed on his older brother. He thought to himself, "Why did he have to come now? Kagome's hurt. Maybe he didn't see her. . ."

"So, it's a fight you want. I don't care, and after I beat you, I'll take the Tetseiga. And I'll kill the wench while you watch." Anger flashed in Inuyasha's eyes. Sesshomaru knew about Kagome being with him. He growled. He wasn't about to let Sesshomaru near her.

"You won't go near her." He voiced his thoughts. He watched as Sesshomaru charged in. He tackled Inuyasha, and the Tetseiga flew from his grasp. Sessomaru charged at him again, and Inuyasha jumped nimbly out of the way. He turned around when he noticed Sesshomaru was getting dangerously close to the woods Kagome was in. Inuyasha reached his claws into Sesshomaru's head, and jerked him backward. Sesshomaru growled and clawed at Inuyasha's face. Kagome hated to watch, but she had to. She had to make sure nothing happened to him, especially in case she could help. Inuyasha punched Sesshomaru hard in the face, splitting open his brothers skin. Sesshomaru punched him in the back in the stomach, his fist busted through his chest to his back, like it had many times before. Kagome couldn't help it, she screamed in surprise and horror.

"Inuyasha!" she breathed. She rocked back and forth. "No, no, no. . ." she whined. Inuyasha looked up and saw Sesshomaru advancing on Kagome. Inuyasha forgot about his wounds and went to help. Kagome backed into a tree when she saw Sesshomaru. She knew she couldn't run, he was over five times her speed. He was reaching for the Shikon Jewel and his sword when she thought of an idea, but before she could use it, Inuyasha's fist collided with the back of Sesshomaru's head, and he blacked out. Inuyasha checked to make sure his brother wasn't awake, and then looked at Kagome. "Are you okay, Inuyasha?" She asked. She knew he wasn't, but she still felt she had to ask. He looked at the hole in his chest, and felt the color rush out of his face.

"I will be." He simply said. Kagome reached into her bag, and pulled out anything that would be able to help him. While Kagome worked, Inuyasha would keep punching Sesshomaru to keep him unconcious. To Inuyasha, she seemed to work perfectly. She kept making sure the bandages were tight, but not over tight, and that he had stopped bleeding. When she was finished, he let out a shy, "Thank you."

He got up and sheathed the Tetseiga. He looked at his brother and wondered what to do with him. Kagome noticed. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it will work." Inuyasha smiled and waited for her idea. She showed him the rosary in her hand. "Do you think it will work?" she asked. He looked at it and nodded slowly. She walked up to Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha made sure he'd stay asleep. Kagome tied it around Sesshomaru's neck. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and smiled, but not for long. Something hit her, she went flying through the air, and hit the ground hard.

In front of him stood a large demon, probably one of the largest he had ever seen before. He unsheathed the Tetseiga and charged toward the demon. It growled, and tried to bat Inuyasha away with his large arms. Inuyasha kept charging, saving the right time for his wind scar. He chanced a glance at Kagome, who was slowly sitting up, rubbing where she had hit her head. "Are you okay?" he yelled to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she yelled back to him, then gasped. "It's got a jewel shard!" she noticed. Inuyasha growled, furiously attacking, to get the shard.

"Where is it?" he yelled. Kagome looked. She couldn't pin point exzactly where it was. It looked like it was moving, but then her vision blurred.

"It's, um. . . it's in his um. . ." She swayed back and forth. She was going to say more, but she collapsed onto the ground. Inuyasha saw what happened to her. He forgot about the jewel shard and attacked the large demon furiously, trying to finish quickly to help. He was no longer thinking, just attacking with blind rage. Eventually, the demon couldn't take it anymore, and fell over, dead. Inuyasha jumped toward Kagome, and cradled her in his arms. He realized with horror that she was no longer breathing.

"No. . . Kagome, please wake up, you have to. Come on, you can do it. . .wake up." He looked at her and softly whispered, even surprising himself, "I love you." Her eyes snapped open and she gulped in a large amount of air. "Kagome, you're awake!" he breathed. She slowly lifted her head to look at him.

"I must have hit my head harder than I thought. . ." she said slowly. He blushed when he noticed he was still holding her, but she didn't seem to notice it, and he didn't move. They sat there for a while. "Umm. . .did you get the jewel shard?" she asked, breaking the silence.

He shook his head. "I didn't know where it was. Where is it?" he looked at her questionally. She looked over to the fallen demon, and saw the familiar pink color of a shard. She saw it in what looked like a head. . . or was it a leg? The demon was so torn apart she couldn't tell.

"Umm. . . it's in that piece." She pointed to the piece she could not identify. She slowly stood up, leaning on a tree. Inuyasha walked up to where she had pointed and dug out the shard. He walked back to Kagome and placed it in the palm of her hand. He looked over to where Sesshomaru was before, and realized he had gone. Inuyasha was about to go after him, but Kagome grabbed his hand. He looked at her and noticed her pleading eyes. "Don't go." she whispered. "I'm sure it will be okay. He was off bad enough to sneak away." She smiled when she saw his face soften and noticed he was slightly relaxed. "And when we meet him again, I have a feeling we'll be ready." He continued to walk with Kagome to Kaede's village. Inuyasha had her for another reason to not go after his brother. She had been through alot the last few days, and he found it was his duty to protect her.

They walked up to Kaede's village, each lost in their own thoughts. He wondered if Kagome had heard what he had confessed earlier. Inuyasha was glad they were so close to the hut, because he could tell Kagome was still tired and weak. When they were finally there, they were graciously welcomed. Kagome was so tired and weak she could hardly stand, so she greeted everyone and thankfully slept. While Kagome slept, Inuyasha explained what had happened in the last couple days, convieniently forgetting certain parts.

Kagome and Inuyasha had arrived at Kaede's hut in the early evening, and now it was late in the night. Kagome stirred quietly, and looked around her. All of her friends were scattered around her, sleeping. She looked behind her and saw Inuyasha sitting in the corner, very close to her. His face was turned to her, but his eyes were closed. He didn't have the vague smile she had seen before, but a small frown. She watched him for a while and she debated with herself, as she had earlier. She looked at him and softly whispered, "I love you too." She laid back down and saw the familiar smile was back on his face again. He hadn't been asleep either.