Chapter Six: Remind Me

The Kaze no Kizu sliced through the trees, dying out as it hit silvery scales. Eki growled, more annoyed than injured. Four eyes glared at him threateningly, only prompting the hanyou to glare back. Kouga took action in the lull, a claw grazing the quick lizard's opposite shoulder. A shard, covered in black blood fell out. The wolf youkai snatched it up. "Glass?"

"Kouga!" In Kouga's distraction, he didn't notice the lizard's jaws snap down on his shoulder. He tore the lizard off, punching him hard enough to send him into a tree. Kouga's shoulder had already begun to soak in blood and Eki was looking a bit disoriented from his up close and personal experience with the tree.

Ultimately, they seemed to be in a stalemate. Neither side could find an advantage, even through the lizard's blind rage. All four were bleeding and tired already, but their own demonic pride drove them on.

Suddenly, the wooden door swung open, an unexpected rock flying out and striking Eki square between the eyes. The youkai charged the door to finish the job, but was met by a glowing pink arrow. Kagome glared angrily out at him, an arrow strung tight in her bow. Delicate fingers released the sharp arrow, shooting it into the youkai's shoulder. He stumbled backward, clutching at it and screaming nonsensical sounds. A shard fell out, snatched quickly up by a clawed hand. Kouga held the true shard triumphantly, smirking at Eki menacingly.

Kagome's bow still shivered with life, though her eyes were locked on the opposing golden ones a few feet away. The hanyou looked strangely at her, as if she had been away for years. A shadow fell over the girl, silver youkai smirking as a long tail rose from the ground, shooting toward her. Before she could blink, she was no longer grounded, but carried by Inuyasha. It was a feeling she'd missed, but there was little time for reunions and reminiscing.

Once more, she felt something beneath her feet and the bow was immediately raised to aim. The youkai already had a katana lodged in his back, courtesy of Sango, and the others were making their moves on the mad Eki.

"Hey Lizard Boy!" Inuyasha's voice broke through the chaos. The youkai still recognized the challenge, looking up to see another arrow bearing down on him. Without a moment to flee, the reincarnated miko's arrow tore his shoulder off, taking the rest of the shards out. Jewel fragments gone, he reverted to his ordinary form, the same sickening color as he had been before. A tail shot out, acidic nature returning, but missing an arm and severely wounded, the youkai could no longer continue. The appendage dropped lifelessly to earth, followed quickly by its owner. Inuyasha wasted no time in tearing the rest of the creature apart with Tetsusaiga.

It was a somewhat anticlimactic finish to such a long battle. The Kazaana cleaned up once more, giving into an uneasy silence. Kouga cleared his throat and smirked arrogantly at his rival. "Well, I think you owe me a few shards."

Inuyasha sneered somewhat, but picked up a shard and tossed it at him. Kagome looked at him in utter disbelief, but he didn't seem to notice. Kouga picked it up and waved to Kagome, mumbling something about hoping 'the mutt' would be smart enough to keep an eye on her until he returned to claim her.

The clouds hung low in the sky, borrowing sun's fiery colors to paint their silver-rimmed edges. The sun itself sat high in the azure blue sky, gentle heat waves shimmering against the trees. The sound of quiet talking could be heard from Kaede's hut, the occasional phrase or sentence slipping through as Miroku and Sango explained exactly what had happened during their battle with Eki. Inuyasha had taken up his usual position in the treetops, looking out over the small village that he had so often frequented recently. Small ears twitched atop his head, catching the snapping of a dead plant somewhere behind him.

A slight limp tainted Kagome's step, barely detectable by anyone but the hypersensitive hanyou she stared at. "What?" He demanded, unsettled by her gaze. She shook her head and smiled, relieved that he was back to normal. By what she was told, he had been quite upset. Maybe it was a good thing.

"Inuyasha… why did you give Kouga the other shard?" She questioned innocently. For a second, she wasn't sure if he'd even heard her. He grunted softly, looking away without any intent of answering. She hadn't really expected him to.

Her bandaged hand grabbed firmly onto the bark. Slowly she pulled herself up to Inuyasha's branch, impressing even him. She sat heavily next to him without saying a word. He glanced to where she sat, looking a bit worse for the wear from her ordeal. After he was sure she wasn't preparing a conversation, he looked back to the bright clouds. "Inuyasha?" His head whipped back around, eyeing her carefully. She was looking away sadly. It was a look he hated knowing. "I… I do trust you. It's just that I…"

He remembered the incident that had prompted her fear, the fight and her kidnapping. He was afraid to say anything in the delicate situation that might earn him more trouble with her than he was already in, despite the fact that the first wasn't entirely his fault. She continued. "But… what about next time?"

He caught the slightest twang of mischief in her voice. He felt the urge to defend himself, but that would probably just start another fight. He only looked away. He felt her finger on his chin, drawing him to face her again. She looked at him carefully, searching his eyes. He could just pull away from her, but the way she looked at him was so odd, deep in thought. That finger never moved from his face. After a five second eternity, she spoke softly again. "I guess next time, I'll just have to remind you." She smiled, leaning in and kissing him sweetly. The same five seconds didn't last long enough for him.

"YES!" Shippou's voice interrupted the romantic moment, earning him a withering glare from a certain hanyou. A small branch mysteriously dropped onto Shippou's head. He retreated, crying about how mean Inuyasha was.

Kagome laughed, watching him go, but her companion wasn't finished yet. An instinct drove Inuyasha to pull her in again, relieving her fear that he hadn't enjoyed her kiss. They broke away into silence, a gentle peace settling over the previously awkward hush.

Some time later, Miroku and Sango came to stand at the trunk and talked to them for a while, and the hours melted away until the moon was high in the sky. Sango and Miroku were off to bed and Kagome was asleep on Inuyasha's arm. The peace remained hanging in the late night- a completion of the broken group. He flashed a rare smile at the girl clinging tight to his haori, snoring quietly.

"You might have to remind me a few times…"

.owari.

Notes- Yup. That's it. I never upload all at once, but I love this story and I wanted to at least have it finished for future reference. Hope you enjoyed. Drop me a line if you did.