Disclaimer: No, I do not own Inuyasha. I also do not own Michelle Branch's lyrics...

A/N: Okay, if you notice anything weird or something it's becuase my dad, as promised, yesterday performed long and tiring and intense brain surgery on this computer (which happens to be mine (grins)) as a result things are quite different but significantly faster! He installed a new hardrive (I got to see the computer's GUTS!) and then had to get it hooked to the Internet again (that nearly killed him...I swear, he has to dominate the machine with some under-his-breath cursing to break the computer's will, and then, and ONLY then can he fix the darn thing and make it run right...so, becuase he succeeded you and I both know that he has whooped this machine's butt!) Anyway, so I now have AOL and Internet Explorer running at the SAME time! I can look at reviews now while writing these! We're back in business! (CHEERS!) Anyway, that was why I haven't updated in something like a week...I'm sorry, the bloody thing was so slow, and I was so blue (cold, too much play practice and homework that sort of thing) that I could only dream of updating my posts...but NOW we're back in business! Anyway...This is the long awaited mushy chapter! I think you're all going to LOVE it, I know I LOVED writing it! (YAYS!) okay, gotta go to the endnote now: enjoy!

Maybe She Won't Run Away

"You give me something to sleep to

And all I know is

You give me something to dream to when

I'm all alone and blue

Don't leave me now

Don't leave me now…"

Inuyasha stopped about an hour's romp away from the hot springs, his breathing hardly even rough after the journey. They were in a beautiful meadow on the edge of the river. But now the river was the same that'd stolen Kagome from Inuyasha at the cliff where she'd fallen…come so close to dying…the river near the village was a different fork of that river, but Inuyasha had run so far upstream that he'd come to the place where the rivers were still one river.

He could smell the richness of the river's waters. The fish had to be large here—the water was so deep and rich that current or no it had to be a good place for them to be…

And the meadow? It was gorgeous. The trees circled it thickly, but the branches never came to cover the sunlight from above, instead when a few scant leaves caught the light they seemed to fluoresce bright green. The color was enormously beautiful, it reminded the hanyou of Kagome's strange school uniform—which she wasn't wearing now, although the skimpy green kimono was similar, although the color of it was darker.

Gently Inuyasha set the girl down into the lush grass of the meadow, making sure that she was in the sunlight so that her legs would be warm. He was surprised to see that she was asleep—or rather, unconscious. Worriedly he placed a hand in front of her mouth and waited until he could feel the warm, moist wind of her exhalations on his palm. With his acute hearing he could just about feel her heart beating through his toes, and it was normal.

Her back hair was wild around her in the bright green grass, contrasting sharply. There was a crease between her eyebrows. The girl's sleep was not a pleasant one. Tensely, Inuyasha sank to his knees at her side and stared at her silently for a long, long time.

She was almost dead…I can scent it on her. She almost died recently. Her body is still weak…

It was only then that he remembered his own body's weakened state. The night before his hunger had been completely forgotten on his quest to find Kagome. After that he'd been too busy attending his wounds to find any food. That very morning he'd hardly had the brain power or the patience to raid a few vegetable gardens, and swallow a little of the cold, slimy, and utterly disgusting river sludge. He still felt queasy after that meal.

He could really use some meat!

…And so could Kagome!

Inuyasha turned and leapt toward the river, crouching cautiously at its edge. He wasn't sure how deep the bloody thing was but he knew it was deeper than his knees. Likely it was deeper than he was tall…the hanyou didn't feel like getting soaked. If Kagome woke up and saw him dripping wet she'd never hug him…that and he'd smell like a wet dog for sure!

So Inuyasha improvised a fishing line. With a little scouting he found a relatively straight branch. Then he tanked a few of his own silver hairs and wove them together to make sure that they were strong like wire or string. The next part was the easiest for him: digging along the moist riverbank the hanyou found a worm and poked a hole through its middle with his pinky claw. After that he tied the earthworm with the fishing line made of his own hair. When everything was secure he placed the impromptu fishing pole between two rocks and let the wriggling worm on the end of the line dangle in the current.

Then he waited…

Fifteen minutes of crouching on the rocks later Inuyasha spotted a large fish creeping towards his worm. The hanyou leaned over the water slowly and waited, his muscles taut and ready to spring, his clawed hands poised over the surface of the water…

The big fish dashed in and grabbed hold of the worm…without a hook to catch on its gills the fish only struggled briefly with the caught worm before it was free again—but that pause was long enough…

Inuyasha snatched the fish out of the water and dug his claws into its gills for a firm grip—then he leapt to shore, the fish still wriggling. Ironically its struggles were not unlike the earthworm's.

In the meadow Inuyasha checked on Kagome who was still sleeping peacefully in the sunlight. Not knowing when she'd wake up, Inuyasha hurriedly set a fire up and, after gutting the fish using only his own claws, he began roasting it. When it was finished Inuyasha ate three fourths of it and then set aside the last piece, on the off chance that Kagome might want to eat it.

She still wasn't awake.

The hanyou crept close to her, sighing as he noted that the sun was setting above, the evening shadows were growing longer and larger. In the dying light Kagome's skin seemed to glow…her scent was sweet like blooming flowers in the breeze…Inuyasha squirmed embarrassedly when he felt the impulse to lick her legs…they looked as if they were made of honey!

Nervously his amber eyes flicked to her face, searching for any sign that she might be awake…he saw none. Carefully he paused and listened. Her breathing was normal and steady. Her heartbeat was also slow and relaxed and even. He closed his eyes and let those observations comfort him: his Kagome was alive! She wasn't dead! She'd never really been dead! He had her now, safe and alive, and he'd never let her go!

The amber orbs snapped open then and were immediately drawn to the golden glow of the flesh on her neck, arms and legs…he swallowed nervously and his face burned crimson…but she was asleep and there was no harm in looking, right?

Slowly he extended one hand out to her face. His fingertips gently grazed her cheek. He withdrew suddenly as if he'd been caught doing something shameful, or as if her skin had shocked him. So smooth…

He swallowed the strange lump in his throat again, but it was futile…and like an addict he reached toward her again. This time his fingertips and talons traced her lips and chin. He pulled his hand away and closed his eyes, holding her face in his mind's eye and he sighed sadly. I almost lost her…I can't stand to sit around here waiting for her to wake up, I want to talk to her now…

Frustrated, the hanyou brought the same fingers that'd touched her lips to his own, tracing their shape anxiously. Almost like kissing her…but that was a lie…he knew full well that the flesh grazing his lips was his own and not Kagome's. He stopped and stared at her again, his golden eyes tense. Inside his longing for her increased tenfold with each passing second—her skin looked like honey, he could hear her body working, keeping itself alive, smell her warm, lovely, sweet scent, the lingering sensation of her soft skin against his fingertips—and with each of those seconds he fought himself internally.

You will wait.

But I almost lost her… You will wait! I just want to hold her in my arms, feel her warm skin… No!

He paused, blinking in confusion, as if he'd been asleep himself. His hand was extended toward her face again, the fingers reaching for her lips…but that wasn't what he wanted…

No!

He moved forward, closer to her. The silver hair spilled over his shoulders as he moved, falling to tickle the girl's arms and face.

Stop!

The hanyou placed one palm on the other side of her neck in the grass, to support him as he leaned down to scent her skin and exhalations close up. His nose was right above her lips.

Stop now!

Her warm, soft skin was only centimeters away, the slightest movement, the slightest waver in his muscles, intentional or otherwise, and Inuyasha's flesh would meet hers. And her scent! It seemed to affect him the way that the smell of Ramen did when he was hungry—he swallowed nervously—there was too much spit in his mouth!

Get away from her!

It was warm and sweet, and her skin glowed like honey. He wanted to run his lips over her cheeks, to taste her skin, not just feel it against his own.

You must wait!

But he couldn't. He'd come too close to losing her forever. If he hadn't followed the samurais to the village, hadn't been near enough for her words to use the rosary beads—how he loved those beads now!—he'd never have known that she was alive and living in the village…

Living in the village…

He stopped, hovering above her face, his thoughts spinning. That's right…there's something wrong with her. She thinks she's one of the villagers…he blinked and looked back down at her face.

The sun was setting; the glow of her skin was beginning to diminish. Kagome was still beautiful, but now it was in a darker, more mysterious way. Her eyes flickered beneath their lids, restlessly. Fear that she'd awaken made the hanyou's body stiff, ready for flight. But as he paused and listened there was nothing strange about her body's rhythms. Her heartbeat was steady and slow, her breathing deep and even. She was asleep still; everything would be all right.

But when his eyes caught sight of her lips again and the black tangles of her hair, he felt a place in his chest tighten. I almost lost you Kagome…and I never told you how much I…

He closed his eyes and lowered his lips closer to her face another fraction of an inch. Her scent was intoxicating this close, a terrible tease. He imagined the warmth of her beautiful arms wrapped around his neck, the brilliant white of her smile, the light in her eyes when she laughed.

And I almost never got to tell you…almost never got to tell you how much…

"…I love you Kagome." His muscles shook, quivering, and the hanyou sighed, releasing a long, long breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "I've loved you for so long. I wanted to die when you fell…" his eyes stung but Inuyasha forced the tears away and opened them, just in time to see Kagome move her head slightly, turning so that their lips were in line with one another, it was like she was asking him to kiss her…but Inuyasha pulled back from her, biting his lips to hold back the terrible burning emotion inside him.

Leave her alone. Let her sleep…she's just sleeping, that's all.

He nodded obediently to himself and started to push himself up and away from her completely when he heard Kagome moan. Fear seized his muscles and he remained where he was frozen in place…a second passed, two…and then he saw her lips move once, twice…and she whispered his name.

"Inuyasha."

Before he knew what he was doing Inuyasha had lowered his lips to her cheek, brushing them along her skin. The warmth that radiated from her was like a drug—he wanted more. The hanyou skimmed her flesh gently, breathing her in, tasting her with his acute sense of smell. He reached her lips and hesitated a moment, opening his eyes to look at hers…she was asleep.

Stop you fool! Baka!

I can't, I just can't.

Inuyasha kissed the corner of her lips gently—and to his surprise she moved beneath him, turning slightly so that his lips were directly on hers now. He felt her whispering something almost inaudibly, her lips moving difficultly on his.

"Inuyasha…"

His heart was hammering inside his ribs, he was sure it'd burst. She's dreaming about me…she does remember me!

The hanyou moved with instinct now, his desire at the edge of consuming all of his coherent thought. He kissed her, a little harder than before, and one clawed hand came to her neck, warm, smooth and inviting. He caressed her cheek and neck softly, innately knowing where the right spots were that would pleasure her, where the nerves would send her brain messages of bliss…

It was a mistake.

Deep within its dreams of purple gem shards, fox demons, demon slayers, lecherous monks, and red robed hanyous, Kagome felt a chill pass through her body. The red robed hanyou that was sitting beside her in her dream, chatting with her and keeping her company, suddenly faded.

Kagome's mind snapped awake, her eyes popped open, warm brown orbs hazy and confused with the heaviness of her sleep…and then she felt the heat of another's lips on her own, the moisture of his mouth, the musky, masculine scent of the forest and, distantly…fish. His silver hair was tickling her arms, and his dog-ears were just barely in her line of vision, at the very top of his head. The red robes had blocked her view of the sun and the sky and the trees above…

Red robes…Red Demon.

And then she was Sakana and not the deeper, secluded Kagome. She was the girl that had been rescued by Shisuki and Toka again, the girl that was terrified by demons just as all the other mortals were.

She opened her mouth and screamed in horror.

Inuyasha jumped away from her, his heart racing, his ears ringing, his stomach abruptly squeezed and wrenching as if he might be sick.

You stupid, stupid half-breed!

He watched in shock as Kagome jumped up, her usually happy brown eyes wide and terrified. "Stay the hell away from me you monster!" she screamed, making him cringe. Something inside him hurt again, something somewhere in a place that wasn't stomach or chest—a thing that mortals called the heart. Had he ruined his chance to keep her with him forever?

Kagome stood up weakly and started to step away from him, shaking with fear. The emotion rolled off her in waves, assaulting his nose. The hanyou gripped the earth with his claws, tearing the soft green grass, stifling it. Not again, I won't let you leave Kagome; I almost lost you once…

"Kagome! Please! Wait!"

"My name isn't Kagome!" the girl shot back at him, still trying to back away from him…but Inuyasha saw that she was about to step into the ashes of the fire he'd made to cook the fish…he sprung forward just as she started to stumble, her eyes widening in shock, and caught her safely in his arms, bridal style.

"Let me go!" she beat on his chest—with surprising strength and Inuyasha coughed, losing his breath. He stumbled, but refused to let her free. The couple landed in a heap and rolled. A few feet away from the remains of the fire they stopped, bodies intertwined, legs tangled…but Inuyasha was on top and in control.

He pushed himself away from her face but kept her pinned with one clawed hand. When he met her gaze he saw she was terrified, so frightened that she had been rendered mute. He pursed his lips, knowing that she thought he was going to kill her—he could see the thought in her eyes, smell it in her scent, hear it in her racing heart—or worse still, rape her.

He sighed. "Kagome…"

"My name isn't Kagome…"

"Yes it is!"

"I don't know you!" but he was sure that in her eyes there was a glimmer of thought, of consideration. She wasn't so sure of her words.

"You do." He tried to smile at her, his ears fell backward regretfully, "I'm sorry I…" he hated the burning feeling in his face, "…kissed you. It's just that I thought you were dead until in the river…" he saw the confusion in her face and sighed again, frustrated.

Inuyasha let her go and pulled away. Unhappily he sat, cross-legged in the grass. His hands disappeared into the sleeves of his haori. His amber eyes focused on the grass between he and Kagome, deeply and darkly pensive. What could he say to her if she remembered nothing, if she thought she was someone else? What was there he could do?

When he looked over to her he saw that she hadn't run away—which was a start at least. Kagome was staring at him, her eyes still wide and heavy with fear, but she wasn't getting up and running—not yet anyway. After a time she broke the silence of the stare down by extending her hand forward cautiously.

"My name is Sakana…well…that's what Mijai the village's healer decided to call me."

Scowling Inuyasha extended his hand as well, noticing the way that Kagome, or rather, "Sakana," winced at the sight of his claws. He shook her hand as gently as possible. "I'm Inuyasha."

At the sound of his name Sakana blinked, there seemed to be something troubling her. There was a familiarity to the sound, as if it'd slipped from her mouth many, many times. But when she looked at him there were no memories. Inuyasha was watching her carefully, judging her facial features. It appeared that his name struck her somehow, affected her. The hanyou felt a glimmer of hope…if he could jog her memory…

"So…" he mumbled, clearing his throat, "Tell me about yourself, Sakana. Where were you born? The village along the river perhaps? What are your parents' names? Or are you an orphan? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

She looked away from him, her face a giant wrinkle of confusion. "I don't know."

"Oh, really?" he asked, his tone openly mocking, although he knew that that wasn't the way to sound. He hated her not remembering; he hated having had his reunion ruined. "So, why are you named Fish?"

"Because my friend Shisuki pulled me from the river with her jerk of a brother Toka…" she scowled, an ugly expression that didn't belong on Kagome's lovely face…the hanyou wanted to reach out to her and hold her, comfort her…he hated the images that came to mind when she told that snippet of her story: two kids pulling his Kagome dirtied, wounded, sickly, and cold from the waters…and she'd been all alone and without memory. Completely unprotected…somehow he felt guilty, and that made him angry.

The hanyou's ears folded backward and his eyebrows lowered, obscuring the amber orbs. He looked fierce to Sakana then, and she looked quickly away, her heart pounding.

"So, when did this happen to you? Was it about…" he thought frantically, counting days, "A week or more ago?"

She looked back at him, a little surprised, "Yes, it was just that long ago…"

He nodded, his gaze was intense and heavy on her, "That's about the same time when my Kagome fell from a cliff into the river…" he pointed to the bubbling, frothing waters just a hundred feet or so away, "That river, as a matter of fact." He looked "Sakana" straight in the eye, daring her to challenge him, "Kind of ironic that those things happened about the same time roughly, isn't it? Kagome falls into the river and downstream a ways some villagers pull a girl out who looks, smells and sounds the exact same way that my Kagome did. Funny huh? The girl they pull out can't remember her name so they call her Fish." Inuyasha cackled sarcastically, his ears were still turned backward; his amber orbs were dark with some unnamable emotion.

"It can't be…" she shook her head, looked away, her lips quivering, her eyes blurred with tears.

"Why not, Fish? Why not?" he growled.

Sakana looked back at him, her brown eyes narrowed, the tears slipped away, rolled down her cheeks…and Inuyasha felt his frustration, his anger, his bitterness slip away at the sight of her tears. He wanted to hold her, wanted to treasure the simple fact that she was alive…he had a second chance with her…but she spoke before he could move and her words stopped his heart.

"Because I don't want to be associated with a murderer."

Inuyasha stared at her, slack-jawed; his ears upright again, but only for a moment as a cross between shame and pain coursed through him. His ears folded down, hiding amidst the silvered strands. He could remember attacking the samurais so clearly. How he'd carelessly killed to get to the fire just for the food…but he'd been hungry…he'd hurt inside…killing them had been a release then—but now, now it was a curse, a wall between him and the girl he loved, the girl he wanted, the girl he needed.

There was nothing to say. Inuyasha rose from his sitting position and walked, stiffly to the riverbank. He began to dig for another worm…he'd cook another fish and share it fresh with Kagome—Sakana—whoever she was…if she left while he was digging so be it, he'd find her again, she had been listening to him, she'd had to think about it, she had her doubts. Chances were it'd be easier to speak with her again later, and maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't run away…

A worm squirmed beneath his fingers as he eased it out of its hiding place carefully, trying not to kill it or cut it yet. As he worked it out of the dirt and mud of the riverbank, Inuyasha turned and looked over his shoulder.

Kagome was still sitting in the grass, crying softly.

Maybe she won't run away…

Endnote: Thank you to ALL who have reviewed: Taeniaea, cool-chick-rae, lynnie1-23 (I think this met your request? (winks)), toots (I bet you liked this chappy too eh? (grins)), BeccaPatty, Pyrinsomniac (WOW! That sounds like an hassle if I've ever heard one! Thank you for the warning!), fanfiction1 (hehe, after I read your review I went back and reread my own chapter searching for the word "crochety" that was fun!), Love-Inu (good to hear from you then! (smiles))...well I think that's all I have for now (all that remained clearly anyway...with two stories at once the reviews are all scrambled and such...) write in with questions and comments, I AM listening...and from now on it should get more efficient and easier for me to sort through (the email I mean) anyway, review and tell me what you thought! I love hearing from my readers! YAYS! Next chapter Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala meet up with the hanyou and his captured "Sakana"...the sparks fly...till next time! (blows kisses)