"Inuyasha ventured far and wide," Kaede exclaimed, stirring the contents of a brass pot over the fire. "I worry about his health. His father would not have wanted Inuyasha to die in the hands of another half-demon." Kagome, Shippo, Sango, and Miroku sat by the fire, talking about Inuyasha's dangers as he lay sleeping on the same bed he had been in just two days before. Kagome, who witnessed Inuyasha leaving, wrung her hands in her lap.
"Did one of you see Inuyasha leave the house?" Kaede asked. "If so, why did you let him go?" Kagome kept silent, even though she desperately wanted to tell everyone that she was there. "Inuyasha will surely die if he goes after Naraku one more time," Kaede said, fear rising in her old, wise voice.
Kagome bit her lip, but she could not bear the shame any longer. She stood, nearly knocking over the bowl of stew that Kaede had poured for her. "I can't take it!" she cried. "I was there when Inuyasha left. Remember, you left me with him? Anyway, Inuyasha said he had to do this. He had a plan, and...I trusted him. So I let him go."

Sango and Miroku stopped eating immediately, and eyed Kagome with an 'uh-oh' look. Shippo, who was the youngest of all, clung to Kaede's sleeve. "What's going on? Am I the only one who can't remember?" Kaede sighed heavily, and let her big shoulders drop.
"But why, child? Inuyasha's life was in danger, and you trusted him with a plan he didn't even tell you about? What if this plan failed?"she asked.
Kagome sat down again, and tears fell to her skirt as she explained. "Inuyasha cares about us all. He said that he did it to save you guys, Kikyo, and me. I couldn't stop him because of that! Don't you see? Inuyasha didn't want me to stop him because he wanted to keep us all safe!" Kagome's tears spilled out as she talked, and she finally stopped to wipe them away with her sleeve.

Sango walked over to Kagome and put her arms around her friend. "There, there, Kagome. We're all here for each other." Miroku, who didn't want to miss the opportunity of touching two girls at once, walked over. However, when he saw Kagome spill tears once more, he sighed and put on his friendlier face. Sango looked up, and smiled when she saw that Miroku actually cared about Kagome, and not about her backside.
"Sango is right," he said, kneeling beside Kagome. "You wanted Inuyasha to be safe, but Inuyasha wanted us to be safe even more. He would rather give up his own life for mine, yours, Sango's, Shippo's, and everyone else's. If that's what Inuyasha wants to share with everyone, we will gladly stay beside him." Kagome nodded. "Thank you, guys. We'll all be friends til the very end, won't we?"

Inuyasha awoke slowly, and Kaede stood up. "It's late, but before we go to bed, how about we all collect herbs for Inuyasha? And this time, someone had better stay with Kagome," she teased, smiling. Kagome, who got the drift, smiled weakly.
Shippo raised his hand in the air. "I'll stay! I'm a sound sleeper, but I'll watch over them all the same." Kagome reached over and patted Shippo on the head, pulling a lollipop out of her backpack. "You're sweet, Shippo. Do you know what else is sweet?" Kagome asked. Shippo nodded, and bounced up and down. "Candy is sweet! I want candy!" he shouted. Kagome laughed, and pushed the lollipop into his mouth when everyone else had gone. The sugar had gone to Shippo's head, and the young fox demon immediately curled himself up against a blanket to go to sleep.

When Shippo was finally in dreamland, Kagome crawled over to Inuyasha's bed. She placed a hand on his forehead, and pulled out another lollipop. "Sugar will make you feel better," she said. Inuyasha shook his head, and Kagome could see that he was upset.
"What's the matter, Inuyasha? I thought you'd be happy, since it's just us again." Inuyasha rolled over on his side to face Kagome. "I need to talk to you, Kagome. Make sure the kid is asleep." Kagome looked over her shoulder, and watched Shippo sleep soundly against Kaede's blanket.
"Yeah, he's asleep. What's wrong?" she asked, hugging Inuyasha carefully. The half-demon closed his eyes, and Kagome patted his head.
"Kagome, do you ever look at the stars and wonder who else is looking at the same ones?" he asked quietly. Kagome thought for a moment, and nodded slowly.
Inuyasha opened his eyes, and stared into Kagome's. "Do you ever get the feeling that the person looking at the same stars is just like you?" Kagome listened to Inuyasha's question carefully, and nodded. "Yes," she replied, and suddenly she knew what Inuyasha was talking about. "You're talking about Kikyo."

Inuyasha gave a faint nod, and covered Kagome's hand with his own. "I love you, Kagome. I don't ever want you to forget it." Kagome's eyes traveled to Inuyasha's, and they seemed to give him an 'I love you too' look, even though she didn't come out and say it.
"Kagome...I need to be with Kikyo. She gave up her life just to be with me. I need to repay my debt, and the very most I could do is give her my heart as well." Kagome nodded, and just when she thought she could not cry any more tears, they spilled out of her sore eyes. "I know," she whispered, stroking his dog ears softly and comfortingly, as though the world would end after that night.