It was morning and a very irritated hanyou was sitting outside the small hut. He had crossed his arms in front of his chest and was intently glaring at practically everything and everybody. Although he had had a very good sleep he definitely wasn't going to admit it. He kept blaming everybody about wasting his time in pointless breakfasts and that of course made them kick him out. Well, we must say that Kagome did that – the others were still too worried to take any drastic measures to deal with the hanyou's mood swings.

When his friends were finished with their breakfast they hurried to get going. Kagome had taken her small yellow bag after Inuyasha had warned her that they would have to travel fast. He had said that Naraku would probably try to escape when he understands that they have found his hideout. While they had still been in the hut, Inuyasha had heard them talking that this would most likely be their finale battle. Somehow he also had the same feeling but he wasn't happy about that. That shouki crystal was still worrying him very much.

"Are you ready?" he asked Kagome and crouched so that she could climb on his back.

"Yes." she nodded and walked toward him.

"Inuyasha," Kaede appeared on the door of the hut and everybody turned toward her in question. "Would you come inside? I want to speak with you..." she said and turned to enter the hut.

"What now?" the hanyou huffed and fallowed the old woman inside.

The others exchanged confused looks and shrugged. Maybe she wanted to talk with him about Kikyou, they all thought. Sighing they walked to the stairs that led to the village shrine, next to the hut. Sitting there, without saying even a word, they waited for their friend.

Inuyasha entered the small room and waited for Kaede to start talking. He had the strange feeling that she knew something that he didn't. Her eyes showed that she was going to have a serious conversation with him and now she was just observing his reactions. He was getting more nervous with every passing second. Why did she call him if she was just going to stay there and stare at him? He opened his mouth to say something but she interrupted him.

"I have some questions for you, Inuyasha." she said calmly.

"Well, spit them out, damn it!" he stuttered. "I can't fucking read minds... You're making me nervous."

She smiled and continued calmly but firmly. "I see you don't want to tell the others everything and I understand that very well... So, why don't you 'spit it out' to me?" at that his right eye twitched but he didn't answer. "You may not believe this, but I am concerned for you." he gave her a slightly 'yeah, right' look and she smiled. "I fear that this may be the last time we see each other..."

"Alright..." Inuyasha finally gave up and sighed. "You think that Kikyou destroyed the shouki crystal with her arrow, right?" he asked and the old Miko nodded slowly. "Well, she didn't. She destroyed only Naraku's control. I can still feel him and that's how I know where to find him. I didn't tell you because I knew that you'd panic even more."

"Do I look like I am in panic?" Kaede asked and raised a brow.

"Of course you wouldn't panic, but you see how the others react at every sound I make." he protested.

"I know." she nodded and walked closer to him. Taking his right arm she pulled him toward the door. "This is a very dangerous situation, Inuyasha. Be careful. I want you to come back after this."

"You bet I will." the hanyou said firmly and after surprising her by bowing at her, he exited the hut.

After finding his friends and explaining them rather violently that they weren't allowed to know what he talked about with Kaede, the group was off. They traveled until noon and Inuyasha suddenly decided to stop on one particular clearing. While they were traveling he had made some really suspicious things and that sudden decision to stop was the last thing that his friends needed to confront him.

"Start talking, Inuyasha." Kagome said angry but firmly, placing her hands on her hips.

He made a step back and swallowed hard. He knew that a situation like this was inevitable but he hadn't come up with a suitable explanation, yet. The first thing that he had to explain was that he hadn't wanted to tell his friends where exactly was Naraku's castle. The second thing was that he kept mistaking directions and got lost at least seven times, and despite that he still held on his earlier statement that he knew where the castle was.

"That's right, Inuyasha." Miroku was the next to confront him and Sango and Shippo joined his and Kagome's side to glare at him.

"You are hiding something from us." the small kitsune accused him and Kirara mewed in agreement, jumping on the demon exterminator's shoulder. "You better tell us right now, or..."

Inuyasha wasn't really listening to them, trying to come up with an explanation, but hearing Shippo's threat something seemed to snap inside him. He looked at the kitsune and narrowed his eyes. "Or what?" he hissed and made a step closer toward the people in front of him. "What do you think you can do to me, huh? Come on, tell me..."

Kagome stiffened, alarm bells went off in the back of her head and she eyed him carefully. His voice was too quiet, too calm. He almost crooned the words. Although she had never seen him do this before, and definitely she hadn't expected him to get angry at a harmless creature like Shippo, she instantly knew that this was not good. Inuyasha had become a terrifying sight, he even cracked his fingers and the others' eyes widened in disbelief.

Deciding that this couldn't go on, Kagome ran toward the hanyou and placing her hands on his shoulders, tried to push him back. "Calm down, Inuyasha. We won't question you anymore if you don't want." she said and her touch seemed to bring him back to his senses.

"Kagome?" he looked down at her confused and then at his friends' almost terrified faces. "What... I..."

"Don't worry, everything's alright." the girl tried to assure him and turning to ward the others made them a sign to leave them. "Miroku-sama and Sango-chan are going to make a camp. Let's go over there." she pointed at a nearby tree and pulled him with her.

The others sighed in relief and hurriedly walked away from the girl and the hanyou. Whatever Inuyasha was about to do, they were sure that he wasn't actually aware of his actions. Actually if it wasn't Kagome's interference they were sure that the hanyou was going to do something he really was going to regret later, so they were thankful to her.

Inuyasha held his right hand on his forehead while Kagome helped him sit under the tree. She sat at his right side and removed his hand to check if he had fever. When she was sure that he was alright she sighed and leaned her back to the tree trunk without saying even a word. He looked at her with the corner of his eyes but didn't say anything too. They both stayed silent for a while and finally Kagome decided that he was calm enough to answer to her questions.

"Inuyasha..." she started hesitantly but he interrupted her.

"I don't know what happened to me." he said quietly, not turning to look at her. "I-I just..."

"Alright, Inuyasha, don't talk." Kagome placed one hand on his shoulder and he stopped to look at her. "Obviously you're not well enough to travel. Why don't we go back to..."

"No way!" he almost yelled at her and she pulled her hand away, startled. "I... I mean... We can't let Naraku get away!"

"Please, Inuyasha..." Kagome surprised him – she was actually pleading him to back away from an upcoming fight, a fight that could end their dangerous journey once and for all. "Every time we know where to find Naraku something bad happens. And now, with your condition, it is worse than ever!"

"And what's with my condition?" the hanyou snapped at her. "I am fine, don't you get that? If you keep insisting that we go back, I'll continue by myself." he said and started to stand up.

"No, Inuyasha, stay here." Kagome caught his hand and pulled him back down. "I won't make you go back, but please don't push yourself too hard."

He eyed her angrily and crossed his arms in front of his chest, but not after he 'feh'ed to show her that he would do whatever he wants. "Alright. But I don't want anymore stupid questions, we go wherever I say and do whatever I say, ok?"

"Ok." Kagome smiled at him and leaned on his shoulder. He stiffened and made an embarrassed sound in the back of his throat, and she smiled again. "I'll say that to the others. But don't be mad at them – they're just worried."

"Humph." was his only answer as he relaxed.

They stayed silent for a while and being really tired, although he wouldn't admit it, Inuyasha started to feel sleepy. Kagome noticed how his whole body started to relax and under her weight on his right side he started to lean to the left. She lifted her head to look at his face and smiled when she saw that his eyes were closed, his head was slowly leaning forward and his ears were flattened to his hair. Suddenly an idea popped up in her mind and she straightened, startling him. He looked at her confused with slightly dazed eyes.

"Inuyasha, do you like your ears being massaged?" she asked and by the widening of his eyes, Kagome knew that he was more than startled.

"I-I... What?" he asked, his voice cracking a little and his face drained from its color – that question was clearly a shock for him.

Sighing, she motioned to him with one hand toward her lap. "Lay down." she said and he frantically shook his head. Right now she was sure that he wanted to run away as fast as he could, and he would've done that if he didn't know that she would sit him if he tried. "Don't look at me like that, you're making me even more embarrassed than I already am. Come on!"

Inuyasha swallowed hard and cleared his throat. He glanced at where he knew the others were but couldn't see them because of the bushes that were hiding the camp. "What if the others see us?" he whispered, his whole face flushed.

"Inuyasha," Kagome sighed in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "It's not that we're doing something..." her already blushing face reddened even more. "Um...you know..."

"Yea, yeah..." the hanyou said nervously and without another word lied down and rested his head in her lap.

Kagome sighed deeply to calm herself and placed her hands over his ears. Inuyasha's eyes were tightly closed and she could've sworn that he hadn't been more nervous in his entire life. His whole body was tensed and the moment she touched his ears he winced. Determined to make him feel better, she started slowly massaging their base. As she continued with her ministrations, he gradually started to relax as sleep overwhelmed him.

Miroku and Sango appeared behind the bushes and startled at what they saw. Kagome made them a sigh to be quiet and nodding they turned and went back to the camp. Inuyasha sighed in his dream and moaned softly, making the girl in whose lap he was laying smile. The game she was playing was dangerous and she knew that – she knew that she loved Inuyasha and wanted to be with him but she also knew that he wasn't ready for her feelings. But one thing was giving her hope – after all he had kissed her and the fact that he agreed to let her touch HIS ears showed that his shell was breaking.

It was night, the sky was cowered with clouds and no moon or starts could be seen. At a small clearing were sitting four creatures, around a small fire – Sesshoumaru, Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un. The dog demon was silent, as always, he kept staring at the fire – obviously in deep thought. Rin and Jaken were fighting over the last fish and Ah-Un was dozing off.

'That stupid hanyou.' Sesshoumaru though and narrowed his eyes. 'He was just trying to get my attention, wandering like that in the forest. There was some kind of energy transfer between him and... I can't define that youki; it is mixing with his too fast...'

"Jaken," the dog demon said and the green demon immediately shut up and ran to his master, leaving the fish to Rin.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" the girl laughed and ran to Ah-Un to eat her food and go to sleep.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken bowed at him and waited for an order or a beating.

"You felt the youki that my brother was absorbing, didn't you?" the dog demon asked indifferently.

"Yes, master." the green demon answered and looked at him a little confused.

"Can you tell whose it was?" Sesshoumaru asked and his servant almost chocked.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you are asking me?!" Jaken nearly screamed with happiness but received a stone hit on the head. "No, I can't tell whose it was..." he mumbled sadly and went to sit next to Ah-Un and Rin. "It was too good to be true..."

'It may be only Naraku's youki.' the dog demon resumed staring in the fire. 'Inuyasha absorbed a shouki crystal. I didn't see him removing it when he removed the Shikon shards.' he thought and leaned his back to the tree behind him, closing his eyes. 'He wants me to follow him, I will...'

TBC