The sun was setting when Inuyasha and Kagome reached the foot of the mountain. They stopped on a small clearing, surrounded by big and thick trees. Their shadows were covering almost the whole clearing and were making it rather creepy, well at least by Kagome's standards. She kept hugging the hanyou's right arm while they made their way to the farthest side of the clearing.

"Relax, Kagome, we've been in worse places." Inuyasha tried to calm her down, but obviously he wasn't doing much, as she hugged him tighter and the pink blush on his face reddened slightly.

He wasn't feeling uncomfortable of something like that. The thought that his friends and that mangy wolf could come and see them, even if they weren't actually doing anything… you know, was what made him extremely uneasy and nervous. In the last few days the hanyou had realized that whenever he was alone with Kagome, he could do practically everything, talk about everything, without being embarrassed or afraid that she would go away if he said or did something wrong.

Kagome accepted him for what he was, not for what he could be or what he had been before. He knew that but somehow, he always needed something to prove it. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; it wasn't that he didn't love her – it was completely the opposite. But considering the life he was living, what could he give her?

"Hey, Inuyasha?" her voice and the tug on his right sleeve brought him back to reality and he saw that they had stopped walking. "What is it?"

"Oh nothing, just thinking." he shrugged and sat down on the ground, cross-legged. He rolled his eyes when Kagome kneeled next to him without letting go of his arm and leaned on him.

"When are the others coming?" she asked quietly, mostly talking to herself.

"Soon." was all he said and yawned loudly.

"Put your hand before your mouth." Kagome scowled him. "How many times must I tell…" her words trailed off, seeing how his eyes turned aside – he did that only when he was upset about something.

"I'll remember the next time." he said sadly and continued to stare at the grass.

"Inuyasha, look at me." Kagome demanded and turned his head toward her with her right hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." he said and again tried to look away, but she didn't let him go and narrowed her ayes at him, waiting for a proper answer. "I said it's nothing, damn it!" he almost yelled and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, don't let me go!" Kagome screamed and threw her arms around his neck, causing him to loose balance and his back and head to hit the tree behind him.

"Careful, Kagome!" he said and she tightened her hold on him, burying her face in his neck. "The hell…" he muttered when he felt something soft and round in his arms. His eyes widened and his face flushed in the deepest shade of red. When Kagome had thrown herself at him, he had tried to catch her. Obviously he had done that but the places his hands were… My, oh my – this was his end.

Inuyasha didn't dare to move. It seemed that Kagome hadn't noticed where his hands were and he didn't really want her to understand. Right now he was willing to kill himself than let her see where he was holding her. On the other hand, she wasn't helping him at all and he almost bit off a part of his tongue when she shifted and sat in his lap.

She pressed herself closer to him, while moving, and he involuntary squeezed her breasts. That made her gasp and stiffen. Her eyes widened and she bit her bottom lip. She noticed Inuyasha gulp and followed his example. Kagome pulled away slightly and the hanyou quickly hid his hands behind his back. Too lost from embarrassment, neither of them made an attempt to at least look at the other.

Suddenly, loud voices were heard, calling their names and that seemed to make them come back to reality. Kagome jumped away from Inuyasha, not daring to look at him, and he just leaped up in the tree and was off in the forest. A second later, Kouga and the others were at the clearing. The wolf demon was left in total confusion when he saw the furiously blushing girl. The others smiled to themselves and didn't say anything. Considering the way the hanyou and the girl had slept the previous night, it wasn't so surprising that Kagome was blushing and Inuyasha was nowhere to be found.

Some time during the night, Inuyasha came back. Nobody was asleep and he thought that this would be a good opportunity to tell them his plan of attack. They all gathered around the small camp fire and waited for him to start talking.

"Naraku's castle is very close." she started. "Tomorrow we will be there. We will separate in two groups…"

"I want to be with Kagome." Kouga stated firmly and suddenly a stone hit him in the back of his head.

Everybody turned toward the direction the stone had come from and they saw Sesshoumaru walk in the clearing. Ah-Un, Jaken and Rin were following him. He stopped a meter away from the group around the fire and after warning Kouga to be quiet with a cold glare, looked at Inuyasha – as if telling him to continue.

"You all know that Naraku can be killed only if we first kill his baby, right?" the hanyou asked and everybody nodded. "Naraku is hiding the baby up in the mountain. Kagura and Kanna are protecting it. The first group will go there – Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Kouga and Ah-Un." he pointed every one of them.

"I won't ask how you know all that." Miroku said and Inuyasha just nodded. "How are we going to find the place they are hiding?"

"There is a small cave at the peak, protected by a barrier. You will feel its power when you are close enough." the hanyou explained.

The only one who wasn't pleased with his mission was Kouga. It sounded like the only ones who were going to fight Naraku were Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and Kagome. But when he thought about it better, he would get the chance to fight with Kagura. After all, she was the one who killed his men, and if they managed to take care of the baby his group would practically be the winning one.

"The second group will go to Naraku's castle to win time for the first one – Sesshoumaru, Kagome and I." Inuyasha said and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for objections.

"Wait a minute!" Shippo was the first and actually the only one to disagree. "What about me? I want to be in a group too!"

"You, Rin and Jaken will stay here." the hanyou said firmly. "Otherwise you will just get in the way."

The small kitsune was about to start shouting again but hearing his last words, he bit the inside of his left cheek and stayed quiet. Inuyasha sounded just like his brother and that made him shiver. Things were really serious this time since even Sesshoumaru listened to his half brother. And no matter how much Shippo wanted to see Naraku dead, he knew that Inuyasha was right.

Nobody said anything and they all went to sleep. Sango was the one that seemed to be the most worried. She knew that Kohaku was going to fight against Inuyasha and she feared the worst. But then she looked at the hanyou and as if reading her mind, he cracked a small smile and shook his head. The demon exterminator sighed deeply, trying to calm herself. What was she thinking?! Of course Inuyasha wouldn't kill her brother. He would do his best to keep him alive.

Only Kagome stayed awake. She looked at her friends and just couldn't stop wondering how they could sleep after knowing what was going to happen tomorrow. Sighing, she turned her head to look at Inuyasha. He was sitting under a nearby tree, his back leaned to the tree trunk and his eyes closed. Although his body was relaxed, Kagome knew him better than that. Continuing to look at him made her remember what had happened earlier and she shut her eyes tightly, her cheeks reddening a little.

"Go to sleep already." the hanyou's soft voice just centimeters away from her, startled her and she opened her ayes. "I'm sorry for earlier." he said quietly and sat next to her.

"It was my fault." Kagome whispered, finding the fire very interesting at the moment. "I shouldn't have jumped on you like that." she said and lied on her blanket.

Inuyasha stayed silent for a while and then, after sighing, he removed his haori and covered her with it. "Good night." he said and started to stand up but she caught his left hand.

"Stay here." Kagome whispered. "This place gives me the creeps, remember?" she smiled at him and after smiling back, the hanyou sat down.

The sun hadn't risen up yet, when the two groups separated and headed toward their destinations. Since Kouga couldn't fly, he had to ride on Ah-Un's back, and Miroku and Sango were on Kirara's back. Inuyasha, Kagome and Sesshoumaru walked up in the mountain, and Jaken, Rin and Shippo remained at the camp to wait for their return.

"Do you think they'll be alright, Shippo-chan?" Rin suddenly asked.

"Only Sesshoumaru-sama will come out of this alive!" Jaken stated proudly.

"Idiot." Shippo muttered. "Of course they'll be alright." he then turned to Rin and smiled at her.

Suddenly a faint rustling was heard in the bushes behind them and they all turned toward the direction the noise was coming from. Thinking that this was his chance to prove to Shippo that he was also strong, Jaken jumped in front of the two kids and held his staff toward the bushes.

"Who's there?" the green demon yelled, but nobody answered him.

"What if Naraku sent someone for us too?" Rin suggested quietly and moved closer to Shippo.

Hearing that, Jaken's hands started shaking slightly and he swallowed hard. Rin grabbed the top of Shippo's tail and held her tightly to herself. The kitsune was feeling rather uncomfortable but right now he felt more like the hero of the day. Having the advantage his good sense of smell gave him, he had already smelled who was coming.

"Don't worry, Rin." he said calmly and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to look firm and unshaken. "Kikyou's coming." he said when Jaken turned to look at him too.

"Yes, I am." the Miko's voice was heard as she walked in the clearing, her soul snatchers following her. "And I guess I am a little late."

"Go away, you undead creature!" Jaken yelled and swung his staff in front of her, thinking that this would scare her.

Noticing the cold look that the undead Miko suddenly shot toward the really annoying demon, Shippo decided to step in the conversation. "Don't waste time with him." the small kitsune said and walked toward her, dragging Rin with him. The girl just wouldn't let go of his tail.

"I came to see Inuyasha." Kikyou said calmly and looked at the two kids again.

"You just missed him." the boy said. "Inuyasha, Kagome and Sesshoumaru went this way," he pointed toward the forest, "and the others that way." he pointed toward the top of the mountain.

"I see." the Miko nodded thoughtfully. "They are going after the baby, right?" she asked and the small kitsune nodded.

"Kikyou, may I ask you something?" Shippo asked after a moment.

"Yes." she nodded. "What is it?"

"You couldn't destroy the shouki crystal… It's still in Inuyasha, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes showing that he already knew the answer.

"Yes, it's still in him." Kikyou answered and walked in the direction the hanyou had gone.

TBC