InuYasha had gained a large distance in the short time Kagome had provided while trying to preoccupy the Inu-Tachi, with snack foods. Kagome followed InuYasha at her own pace, knowing that he would end up stopping and sitting down to think in a secluded area. She sighed, recalling their last argument. It was ferocious, to say the least, having nearly deafened all of Japan. They screamed for a good hour before Kagome stopped trying to win at the struggle. She quickly shook the memory from her mind, not contented by the recall.
She stopped at the edge of a rather secluded meadow, more distant than he would typically wander. Kagome's eyes looked over InuYasha's form, his black hair making his form difficult to identify from his typical-self. He was presently unaware to Kagome's presence, but he knew that she would be arriving shortly. She always would follow him, and he always treasured the time they spent alone together.
"InuYasha…?" Kagome's voice finally broke the silence as she walked over to him. He looked up at her, his chocolate-colored eyes examining her form. He didn't really say anything, having recalled the same incident as Kagome. Harsh words ripped from her hidden doubt that lashed at him like a whip. The miko's expression was becoming ridden with guilt, realizing why he was so quiet. It never really seemed to bother him in his hanyou-self, but, his human-self was also more sensitive to emotions. As a half-demon, InuYasha could mask his emotional wounds, but his period of weakness also included weakness to his emotions.
Kagome began to give in to her guilt, "InuYasha, I'm sorry about what I had said… I know it was harsh, but I was angry. After all, it's hard to keep from doubting."
"No," InuYasha's voice protested, "It was completely my fault. I picked the fight with Kouga, and I deserved the punishment. He just wanted to make sure that you were still okay." Kagome's expression didn't lighten, her guilt just building as InuYasha tried to relieve her of the painful emotion.
"No, it wasn't right." Kagome replied, staring directly into InuYasha's eyes. The, presently human, inu-hanyou leaned towards Kagome, wrapping his arms tightly around her as his eyes closed. The teenage miko's eyes widened as she felt InuYasha's strong arms wrap around her body. "InuYasha," Kagome's voice asked, leaning into his embrace.
"I was afraid that Kouga would kidnap you again… I didn't want that to happen." InuYasha's shaky reply answered, slightly tightening his embrace. Kagome's eyes softened, realizing that InuYasha was feeling guilt-ridden by the incident. InuYasha reluctantly released Kagome, staring at her with softened eyes. The two leaned towards each other, their lips pressing against one-another's and leading them into a kiss. Their eyes closed, savoring the moment equally.
From the brush at the edge of the clearing, Miroku swiftly grabbed Shippou, covering his eyes and muffling his words with his hand. The Inu-Tachi completely left the snack foods, finding more interest in pursuing the pair and spying on whatever events would take place. Sango stared curiously past Miroku, watching the twosome kiss. Kirara sat atop Sango's head, watching the event as well.
InuYasha and Kagome pulled their heads away from each other, reluctant to end such a cherish able moment. They both stood up, deciding to return to Kaede's hut.
Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and Kirara all panicked, having to return to the hut before their companions did. The three quickly regained their feet and began their sprint back to the village.
Kagome and InuYasha both strode in, seeing Shippou sleeping on Kagome's sleeping bag, Miroku beginning to fall asleep, and Sango and Kirara sleeping on a mat in a corner of the room. Kagome sighed, walking over to her sleeping bag and beginning to slip into its comfortable warmth.
"Goodnight, InuYasha." Kagome whispered before closing her eyes and beginning to drift to sleep. The human-form of InuYasha sat down and began to quickly drift to sleep, as well.

As Kagome slept, and her sleep became deeper, a dream began to form in her resting subconscious. She stood in a fogged darkness, unable to find anyone to question for her whereabouts.
"InuYasha! Sango, Miroku! Shippou, Kirara! Where are you?" Kagome's voice called, echoing through the silence. No reply came, just the sound of her voice echoing over and over, again. As she sighed, listening to the silence, she began to hear the sound of fatigued breath. "Hello? Who's there?" She asked, following the sound. As she walked, the darkness began to take form into the outside of a cave in a forest, within the Sengoku Jidai. It was raining lightly, though the ground was soft from a harsh rain. At the mouth of the cave, she spied a young boy. He was an inu hanyou. More specifically he was InuYasha, as a child, in his hanyou-self. "InuYasha," Kagome's voice called happily, beginning to approach him.
His ears stood up and he looked in Kagome's direction. His expression changed to terror and his ears flattened in fear. Standing back up, he quickly darted into the cave, trying to escape Kagome.
"InuYasha, come back!" Kagome shouted in desperation, following him into the cave. She was far from him, but he took a turn within the cave, hoping to escape this girl that pursued him. Kagome followed him, despite his slight change in direction. She slowed to a stop as she saw him at a dead end, hunkered over in fear, similar to a frightened dog's position. "InuYasha? It's me, Kagome… I won't do anything to you." The girl's voice tried to soothe, to no avail. His amber eyes were brimming with tears and his pulse raced.
"Please, if you're planning deceit, just kill me now!" The young boy's voice blurted, causing Kagome's eyes to widen.
"InuYasha… You know I wouldn't…" She cut off as she took a few steps closer to the inu-hanyou. Her eyes scanned over his body, revealing he had several wounds that bled terribly. Blood webbing from the top of his head and dripping off his chin, large gashes over his upper torso, and arrows protruding from his stomach and right leg. Dried blood even caked on his flesh, causing Kagome's eyes to fill with tears. She never thought she would see the love of her life in such a fearful state. It made her want to sob, having a better understanding of his distrust when she met him.
He paused, watching tears begin to drip off the girl's face. The smell of the tears filled his nose and his deep distrust softened. Kagome walked a few steps away from him, only by his allowing. Once closer, the teenage girl also noted that he looked anorexic, at best.
"InuYasha, who did this to you?" Kagome asked, kneeling in front of him.
"The arrows are from villagers when I was trying to find something there. The rest is from demons..." He replied cautiously. Her eyes filled with even more tears, listening to him. "Why do you shed tears for me? I'm just a worthless half-breed… Should you really waste your pity on me?" He asked his voice filled with spite.
Kagome let the tears flow freely, "I don't care what you are…" She replied wanting nothing more to embrace the boy's wounded form. Kagome began to reach for an arrow, wanting to remove the arrows for his medical safety. A low growl began to emit from his throat and his ears flattened again, his eyes filling with fear. "Can I please remove these arrows? If your wounds go unattended to, you're likely to die." Kagome pleaded as tears continued to flood her eyes. InuYasha's growl silenced and he hesitantly nodded, bracing himself for the pain that would ensue.
Kagome grasped the arrow in his stomach, quickly ripping it from his stomach. A loud scream of pain echoed through the cave, blood pouring out from the wound. Kagome's eye clenched shut and tears poured from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, InuYasha!" Kagome's voice quickly shouted.
"I'm fine…" He muttered through clenched teeth. He turned his arrow-pierced back to the girl, allowing her to hesitantly rip it from his body. A similar scream ensued, causing tears to flow harder from her eyes.
After a few more minutes and several more screams, the last arrow was torn from the hanyou's body. Tears were pouring off Kagome's face, feeling it was partially her fault for causing the boy such pain. She now sat next to him, trying to stop crying. InuYasha sat up, sitting on his knees. He leaned to Kagome's cheek and licked the warm tears off her face, trying to comfort her. Kagome reopened her eyes, looking at the boy, her expression softening.
"Please stop crying, Ms. Kagome…" InuYasha asked, staring at her. He crawled into her lap, resting against her. The sound of a gun's fire broke the silence. The Meiji Era was the invention of primitive guns, lethal enough to kill demons. Kagome's eyes widened as she felt the warm, crimson liquid splatter on her face. It was not her blood, but the child InuYasha's blood. It shot through his left chest, going through his heart. His eyes widened briefly and coughed blood onto Kagome's white blouse before staring up at her with fading eyes. "Thank you, Kagome…" He muttered before his eyes rolled back and his body stopped all functions, causing him to die.
"INUYASHA," Kagome's eyes poured tears once more, causing her to break out into sobs. She tightly grasped the corpse of the boy, crying harder then if she had lost her own mother.
"How amusing… Why mourn over the loss of such a worthless beast?" A spiteful voice asked from the tunnel of the cave they had ventured through. The sound of the gun dropping onto the cave floor echoed through the silence and Kagome's sobs as she glared up in the direction of the voice. The voice was a female that began to appear through the darkness. She was dressed in a black kimono, nearly identical in appearance to InuYasha's. It was a haori, just like it, only black. Her flesh was dark tan, and her black hair was kept in a tight, mid-back braid. Her red eyes focused on InuYasha's body, a large grin sweeping across her lips. Fangs brandished over her bottom lip and claws tipped the end of her fingers. Out of her back was a pair of folded, black angel wings rested against her back. "I suppose, though, that I should take the same offense. I don't stoop to such levels as to let humans beat me, or sympathize. Don't panic, though. You'll see the boy in Hell, soon enough!" The girl shouted, unfolding her large wings and taking flight. She vanished through the roof of the cave in a flash of light.

Kagome awoke in tears, a cold sweat covering her face and her breath fatigued by shock. She looked at InuYasha to make sure that it was just a dream. He was still alive and breathing, unscathed. In fact, he was still asleep. His nose wasn't keen enough to catch the scent of Kagome's tears. It was early in the morning, nearly dawn, and everyone was asleep. Kagome slipped out of her sleeping bag and walked outside, wandering into the forest.
She wandered, following instinct, to the very same cave that existed in her dream. Though, no young InuYasha sat at the front of the cave, watching the rain, it still reeked of death. She wandered into the cave, following the path she had been lead down by following the boy. She paused uncomfortably at the sight of an old gun, but continued walking and thinking it of a coincidence. She stopped at the dead end, seeing bloody arrows and large puddles of old, dried blood staining the cave floor. She slowly turned at the sound of footsteps, seeing the same female from her dream appear from the shadows.
"Miss me? Now that I've partially introduced myself, allow me to kill you and send you to Hell with the boy!"