A Moment In His Mind

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi owns Inu and the gang, not me.

Living on the edge is living like the wind

You are free to go anywhere, do anything

The word fear means nothing to you

But there is always that one thing,

The one thing that turns your world upside-down

I know what that is like; I used to live how I pleased, on the edge of a blade. But that came at a cost, one that I wish to never have to spend again. I have found now what one thing can come to mean to one person, one mind, one heart.

I never thought that a mortal, a human, could become so important, but she means the world to me, and I would do anything to keep her from harm.

"Kagome, get down!"

This is no simple task, the girl is a danger magnet.

"Kaze no Kizu!"

I guess I can't blame it on her; it's the jewel shards that she carries that bring every youkai within the country down on her. Today is no different, just another weak bastard, going after Kagome while she was out of my sight.

"Are you alright, Kagome?"

But that's my fault, and I know it. Me and my big, stupid mouth. I hadn't gone right after her when she ran off afterward, giving her time to cool down, and me time to climb out of my latest crater. I hadn't followed her trail even after I could freely move again, putting up my 'don't care' front. It was the scream of my name from her voice ten minutes later that shot me from my seated position, and toward her scent.

"I'm fine, Inu-Yasha."

She always says that, even when she's wounded. I can smell blood, and it sure ain't mine.

"Let me see," I say, touching her bleeding shoulder. Her shirt sleeve is already dark red at the spot.

"It's nothing, really Inu-Yasha." That wench says again, pulling away. I hide my wince as she hisses through her teeth in pain

I didn't get to her in time.

"Just hold still for a second." I don't' give her time to say anything, quickly tearing the fabric apart just above the wound.

"Hey!"

"Oh shut-up." She gives me that look. "You've got more, I've seen 'um."

"That's not the point." I hear her teeth rub together as the wind blows into the cut. I carefully pull the already dead skin away, using my nose and eyes to make sure that there is nothing in the wound. Satisfied, I tear a strip of cloth off of her sleeve in my hand.

"You should be alright." I say as I wrap the white cloth over the spot. She smiles at me, and I avoid her face. "There, let's go." I get to my feet, turning away. I hear a tear, and look back, unsure of what I would find.

"There, that's better." Kagome got to her feet next to me, dusting herself off. I stared at the girl's arms, now uncovere3d because of her sleeves being torn off at the shoulder.

"What'd you do that for?" I snap.

"It looks even like this is all." She throws her hair over her shoulder as she walks past. That simple movement sends waves of her scent into my nose. I stand frozen as her scent overwhelms me. There is nothing sweeter than that; even Kikyo's scent can't stand up to that. "Hey, you coming, Inu-Yasha?" Her voice trickles back to me. I blink back to reality.

"Feh," I fold my arms into my sleeves, making my claws bite my lower arms. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why can't I ever say what I really mean?

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome's voice again. I turn my eyes back up to her deep brown eyes. I can feel my eyes soften at her worried look. "Are you alright?" She asks, stepping back to my side.

"Uh… yeah…" I answer stupidly. Note to self:

Hit head against something hard.

"Come on then!" She laughs at my face as she grabs my hand, pulling me forward. "Let's go find Miroku, Sango, and Shippo." I follow her obediently, my hand tightening on hers.

Yeah, living on the edge is amazing, but living with Kagome by my side is better, and no freedom is greater than that.