Um…. I said this was gonna be a one shot… I lied. For the reviewer who asked why: I have no soul, actually. It's easy.

That morning

Koga ran a hand over Kagome's black hair, and she grinned. She was leaning on his shoulder, where she had almost fallen asleep as they watched the sun rise. This was a pretty common thing, they did it almost every morning, but today felt… different somehow. Koga had a feeling in his stomach, like foreboding almost. Kagome's smile seemed sad.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
"You'll get upset if I tell you."
"I will not. You can tell me anything, I promise."
"I fell kinda guilty. About Inuyasha, I mean."
"That mutt? Why?"
Though they had fought together many times, Koga had yet to think of Inuyasha as his equal. Actually, he had yet to think of him as anything other than his first impression: A hanyou mutt.
"He was really upset, when I told him about… us."
"He liked you, what did you expect?"
"I think he thinks I abandoned him. Like Kikyo did."
Sigh. Women and their feelings.
"He's probably fine. He'll go hang out with Miroku for a few days, they'll travel around a bit, and he'll be just fine."
Kagome gave him a dirty look.
"That's exactly what we need, another Miroku."
"Sango will put Miroku in line. I've known a lot of people in my lifetime. Trust me, it always works out in the end."
"If you say so. Still, I think I should try to talk to him."
Koga sighed.
"Whatever you want."
Kagome grinned again, laying her head back down. She could do that later. For now, she could relax.

Inuyasha found himself looking, for the millionth time, at his reflection. The light purple stripes were still there. They'd been slowly darkening since Kagome left, and he didn't know why. The tessaiga was always in it's sheath, he barely had reason to use it anymore.
Miroku and Sango he avoided like the plague. The last thing he needed were the two of them deciding he was a lost cause and sealing him again, or worse.
Not that they missed him. No, the two of them were perfectly content to be by themselves, as were Kagome and Koga.
Kagome…
Did the stripes just darken again?
There was no reason for his youkai side to show itself. So why was it?
"Inuyasha? Here you are!"
He whirled around, facing the girl who was approaching the riverbank. She was downwind of him, no wonder he hadn't known she was there.
"I've been looking all over for-"
"What are you doing here?"
Kagome looked a little taken aback by his brevity.
"I came to find you. I wanted to talk."
"Yeah, about what? How I'm not good enough?"
"No! That's not what I meant… Inuyasha…"
She looked closer at his face.
"You're turning demon!"
"I know."
"Why? It's not the tessaiga?"
"Forget it. It's not your problem, you've moved on."
Without me.
"Look, I wanted to talk to you about Koga."
She was standing beside him now, looking up right into his amber eyes.
"I still want to be your friend. We've been through a lot together. You've saved my life a hundred times, and I don't mean to just brush that off."
"Then don't."
"Inuyasha, something's wrong with you all of a sudden. Your demon blood. I want to help you."
"It's not your problem to look after me. I can look after myself."
I wanted to look after you, too. But you don't want me. You want Koga.
"I still love you, you know."
Interesting way of showing it.
"So did Kikyo."
"Why'd you have to go bring her up? She died once, she's died again, and I just want to forget her."
"Will you forget me, too?"
Not if you keep showing up.
"Eventually, I guess."
"I don't want you to forget me."
Make your choice, me or him. I couldn't have both, neither can you. I swore to protect you long before he even knew you were alive. How can you forget that so easily?
"I don't want you to leave."
"Don't you see? This is what-"
"You're the one who doesn't see. I was there by your side the whole time. I can't be there anymore. I can't protect you anymore."
"But I want you to be!"
Her hands moved to the string of beads around his neck. They glowed slightly as she lifted them over his head. He watched with amazement, and a good deal of gratitude, as she dropped them to the gravel bank.
"I want you to be, because I can trust you now."
Everything got fuzzy for a second, like they had been for a while. Kagome's eyes widened for a moment.
"Inuyasha… your eyes…they were red."
His senses seemed sharper too, he could hear her heart beating, a little faster now, he could see the worry in her eyes.
It was fake. She was a fake.
He knew it because he could smell better too.
The scent of wolf covered her, her clothes, her skin, particularly her hair.
"Inuyasha?"
He couldn't protect her anymore, and she didn't want him to, but maybe, at least, he could keep her from Koga, who would only hurt her in the end.
Growling, he pushed her back into the water. She wasn't prepared, and landed heavily in the knee-deep water.
"What the hell are you doing?" she gasped, but he was above her, pushing her back into the murky water.
It was the only way he could protect her.

By the way, in light of a brand new thematic element I made up, these are gonna be all out of order. I do this because I can. I'm hoping this isn't too complicated, so tell me if you don't get it, K?
Until next time…
melissa