Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, alright already!

Chapter 3

They broke camp early the next day, talking cheerfully amongst themselves as they walked on. Salina and Sango talked companionably, while Miroku took the lead, and Inuyasha the more dangerous rear guard. Since the wind was blowing from behind them, Kagome was the first to feel them coming. She stopped dead in her tracks and the rest of the group stopped to look at her as she shut her eyes tight in concentration. Inuyasha walked up to stand next to Kagome, waiting patiently for her command before he sprung into action.

"There's a shard of the Shikon No Tama heading this way and fast. That's not all though…" She grabbed the sleeve of the hanyou beside her before he rushed ahead. "Don't you feel it, guys? There are a lot of them, not just one enemy. It feels like… like… an army out there." He nodded curtly and sped off to scout ahead.

While they waited for him to return, Salina and Sango started to secure they're gear, both with a warrior's calm that would give any stranger the chills before Sango pulled herself onto Kirara's back. Salina insisted on staying beside Kagome. Miroku fiddled idly with the rosary beads around his wind tunnel. They waited for a few anxious minutes for Inuyasha to return muttering every curse word he'd ever heard.

"It's some serpent youkai, and about two hundred other tough shit heads." He announced. He turned to stand directly in front of Salina, who was positioned protectively next to Kagome. "I don't understand why I trust you so much, but I do. But you keep her safe! You hear me? If I regret trusting you, you'll regret it more!" Although Salina nodded sternly and understood, the other frankly stared at them. "What the fuck are you looking at?" Inuyasha turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "We've got shards to collect, lets move!" And with that, he ran ahead, leaving everyone else to follow, including Kirara and Sango from above.

Xx

As the opponents met on their make-shift battlefield that was little more then a clearing, the youkai army came to a halt and their leader slithered forward.

"Ssso thisss isss the pathetic bunch Naraku ssent us after?" The enormous snake hissed.

"Look whose talking ugly! My Tetsuaiga is going make quick work of you!"

"That'sss big talk for a half-breed." The serpent youkai snickered. His oily black scales shaking with humor as his forked tongue flickered playfully in and out of his mouth.

Miroku stepped forward to save Inuyasha from doing something stupid. "Be careful, Inuyasha. Kagome said there were jewel shards here, and who do you suppose has them but this fool? He may seem like a push over, but stay on your guard."

"Inuyasha," Kagome yelled from behind him somewhere, "the shards… there are two. One's between his eyes and the other is in his back!"

But Inuyasha couldn't get his sword half out, before the snake whipped across the clearing, and like a great fog horn had set them off, the army charged. Sango and Miroku were trying to take down the larger part of the army, while Kagome and Salina simply struggled to stay alive and unharmed.

Xx

At some point late in the fighting, Kagome noticed the change in her cousin. At first, she'd thought she'd heard Salina growl, but assumed it was one of the demons. However, her cousin became more and more aggressive toward her enemies, not the same carefree movements Kagome was used to seeing from her. Then she saw her eyes, those usually sparkling emerald eyes; they were now glowing bright and intensely green and she attacked more and more with her increasing strength then with her tactful weapons. Kagome could only fight and hope the battle would end before something really bad could happen.

Xx

Miroku was fighting a group of demons that were surrounded by Naraku's demon insects when Sango scooped him up onto the two-tails back. She threw her boomerang to take two of the lesser demons out in one swoop, while Kirara tried to herd the others away from Salina and Kagome, although they seemed to be doing fine holding her own. Miroku had a thought toward what the odds were of that being possible, but let it slide because he was sitting beside another human woman who happened to be capable of much carnage. Later, much later, he would look back on that memory and berate his slacking sense.

Xx

While the others were fighting off the army, Inuyasha was simply keeping the Snake busy. The youkai was simply too fast for him. Every attempt he made to unsheathe his sword landed him sharply against one thing or another.

"Pleassse give me a challenge! I was expecting more from you, Inuyasha. Then again… you are only a half-demon, which means you're half-human too. Pathetic retch!"

"Well then…THUD… why…THUD… don't you fight…THUD… fare and give me… SLAM… one of those shards?" His brief sense of humor cost him more then his aching ribs, as the serpent wrapped his body in a tight coil and squeezed all the air out of his lungs.

At that point Kagome drew her bow, she knew the sound of Inuyasha making jokes while getting the crap beat out of him as a bad sign and turned just in time to see him captured.

'I can not and will not loss you, Inuyasha!' And with that thought she released the sacred arrow through the demon's body. Although, he dropped Inuyasha, the arrow only took off a chunk of the demons large body. Apparently, that didn't slow him down any because before Kagome could even scream the snake wrapped her round and round squeezing the air out of her slowly.

"INUYASHA! SALINA!" Kagome managed to scream just as the last of her breath was stolen from her.

"I'm coming, Kagome." Salina whispered from the surrounding trees.

Inuyasha was finally able to unsheathe his sword, but as soon as he did he was flat on his back again, thrown by the snakes massive tail. On his back, he saw Salina, her eyes glowing dimly in the trees. She was waving for him to bring the youkai closer. With grim determination, Inuyasha grunted his understanding and forced his aching body to stand. 'Maybe together, we can get Kagome out of this!'

"Hey, ugly," he bellowed, "yeah, you. You're pathetic! Some great demon you must be, needing those shards just to beat a hanyou! Too afraid he might stand on his feet long enough to make a swing at you, eh?" While Inuyasha taunted him, the snake moved closer and closer, and visible more irate. Kagome, on the other hand was turning a light shade of blue. "Hang in there, Kagome!" Inuyasha was starting to panic as he heard her heart going into arrest.

"Sssshut up, hanyou! Sssshe'sss ssstaying with me!" The snake leaned in closer to face Inuyasha, venom dripping from his fangs as he readied to strike. Just then, Salina made her move, and surprisingly the youkai never even noticed her right in front of him the whole time.

Salina leapt from the trees toward the snakes monstrous head, using her short knives as anchors. With one holding her center of gravity, she slashed the serpent across the eyes with the other, grabbing the shard that flew out as she slid down the demons back toward Kagome's lip form. Inuyasha waited a split second to give Salina time to move out of the way before he unleashed his wind scar. Without the extra shard in his head, the snake's reactions lurched ever so slightly, but that was all it took for the strike to hit its mark. Salina slid down the snake's long body and grabbed the falling Kagome just before the demon's form went up in a blaze of light.

Salina held her cousin to her closely, her mind was nowhere to be found, as she blindly rushed through the trees of the forest, trying desperately to put distance between herself and the battle she'd left behind. Never once, did she trip; not once, did she even feel the weight of her cousin's body lying limp in her arms. All was instinct to her and ran unhindered till she was panting for breath exhausted. Feeling that this was a safe distance from the battle, she laid Kagome down in the leafy grass and began to check her vitals. Kagome's ribs were broken, but she was breathing steadily enough. Salina examined her patient with expert hands, as she checked for broken bones and took note of bruises that would soon color in.

"Is she going to be alright?" Inuyasha's strain voice came from just over her shoulder, but she didn't turn to look at him, in fact she hardly acknowledged his presence at all. With a distracted grunt, she assured him that indeed she would be fine. And as she finished her inspection, Kagome, herself, made a noise. Soft brown eyes fluttered open as she returned to reality. Almost instantly, she gave a whine of discomfort as the pain in her arm, ribs and legs panged her conscious mind. Reassured, Inuyasha took off again to aid the others.

Xx

Salina stayed behind, driven by her worst fear, loosing her precious cousin. See, she was almost possitive that Kagome would be fine, but there was still a tiny chance of internal bleeding and she knew that, if there was any, she would know by nightfall. Adding to that how shaken she was from the battle, Salina had no consciousness left to notice how heightened her scents really were. She 'smelt' the party return before they were within eyeshot, and knew immediately that they'd been victorious. Once again, she ignored their presence as Sango and Shippo dashed from Kirara to be at Kagome's side.

"What happened?" Sango's voice asked deep in worry.

Salina was thrown back to reality by the sound of Sango's voice, and she sighed warrily before she responded. "Kagome simply got too close. The demon was too fast for her to move in time and it took both of us too long to get her back." Salina's eyes looked up lazily to meet Sango's wide ones.

"US?" Miroku and Sango exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, us, Inuyasha and I. Alone we couldn't have saved her in time, but together... he never knew what hit him." A sparkle danced for a split second in those jade orbs as she bit out the last words with hatred. Glancing down she laughed at last at the sight of Kagome's meek smile. "Kami, girl you're simply impossible to bring down! Such spirit in a place like this; it's no wonder you're friends love you so much." Shippo beamed brightly at Salina as she began binding Kagome's ribs with Sango's help.

"There," Sango said once they'd finished. "that should help some, although I wouldn't advice trying to move." Inuyasha silently stepped forward gingerly picked Kagome up bridal style.

"Let's get the hell out of this place," He spoke before anyone else could speak. "I'm sick of smelling all their disgusting blood!"

xx

The rest of the day they traveled, walking so as to spare Kagome the jolting of a running Inuyasha. She slept most of the day on and off. Pain kept her from speaking much and, for all her uncomfortably, she was content as possible curled up in Inuyasha's arms. When he'd picked her up, she had shut her eyes in pain, but she knew she heard him mumble a sincerely "I'm sorry" coupled with an affectionate squeeze before he carried on.

When they reached the camp, Salina immediately pulled the two aside and sent Inuyasha to fetch hot water from the fire place. When he returned, she had pulled out a pouch of some kind and was selecting small packets from the organized holders. Like she was doing a ritual, she methodically measured her movements and carefully mixed the different ingredients into the water. One at a time, she tore strips of cloth from a blanket, and soaked them in the simmering solution, whipping the dirt and sweat off of the many wounds on Kagome's body. Salina removed the old bandages and made sure to keep Kagome decent.

Inuyasha sucked in a loud breath as his eyes beheld the violets and reds that wrapped deeply around her entire torso, arms, and legs. His amber eyes seemed to magnify in size as the traveled over the damage, her fare white skin only making the colors more vibrant to his heightened senses.

After what seemed like an eternity to Inuyasha, Salina finished her ministrations and began the preparations for the new bandages. Turning back to her mysterious pouch, she pulled out a rather large amount of powder and dumped it slowly into the sharp smelling solution. Salina remained completely silent and Kagome lay still, closing her eyes every so often to wince in pain, as Salina began to stir the bowl until it was thick, more like a cream then the water it had been. She then cut new strips of cloth from the blanket, these ones much longer than the last, and soaked them thoroughly before so gently began to re-wrap Kagome's torso. As she finished, she leaned down to speak in Kagome's ear.

"Listen, baby girl, this is gonna work like a cast. Well sort of, it won't get very hard, but it will stiffen and tighten up a bit. It is mostly to keep you from straining your ribs any further then for anything else." And with that said she quickly grabbed her thinks and left the two alone on the edge of the camp to get sleep and quiet, or so she said.

Xx

As he watched her retreating form, Inuyasha stood with a deep sigh. He turned back to Kagome with a slight frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. Deciding he'd endeavor to lighten up the mood, he tried to be funny. Leaning over Kagome's head, a curtain of silver hair falling down to the ground around him, he smirked at her devilishly. "Now would be a really bad time to 'sit' me, huh?" However, when Kagome tried to laugh, her face immediately twisted in pain. When she thought she'd heard him whine, she opened her eyes again just in time to watch as her lovingly placed his fire-rat haroi over her and moved to sit behind her head. Lazily, she allowed her eyes to fall closed as she sucked in a deep breath of his scent, and the comforting warmth from his coat. But they shot open instantly, as strong clawed hands reached beneath her neck and shoulders.

"What?" He asked defensively when she raised a slender eyebrow at him.

"N… nothing Inuyasha, I was just wandering why you've been being so kind to me today." Kagome's voice scratched horribly from her earlier experience.

At her words, his ears fell back against his head, and for just a moment he looked like the dog at home who got caught doing something bad. Yet, he recovered quickly and puffed up his chest indignantly before he responded. "Well, if I remember correctly, a long time ago you saved me and, even though you hardly knew me, you shed your tears for me and cared for me just like this." He pulled her up slowly into his lap and rested her head there gently. "So, consider it returning a favor, because I never forgot about that or any of the other times you've been there to nurse me back to health." At that Kagome smiled at him, tears threatening to come, but for the sake of the moment she choked them back. "Get some sleep now, Kagome," He turned serious suddenly. "I'll be right here and I'll protect you this time." As he looked down at her face, bruised and battered, but still smiling brilliantly at him, his heart thudded once, and just as she dozed off to a restless sleep, he added, "I promise."

Inuyasha spent most of the night awake. He listened hard to the sounds of the surrounding forest, still sure that danger could come from anywhere at any moment. But, when he wasn't looking at the neighboring trees accusingly, he was watching her sleep. He watched the breeze blow her hair lightly across her face and breathed in deeply the luster of her scent. He'd never been this close to her for so long before, not while he was conscious that is, and it made something stir within him. Something else awoke in him as well, every time she snuggled his lap in her dreams. He fought against the growing heat in his groin each time she pressed her head deeper against him, only to almost lose his control when she let out a contented moan as she finished. Without even opening her eyes she could send his demon blood surging, and make his human heart hammer at his ribcage. With a dog-like sigh he settled against the tree behind him and played idly with her ebony locks that hung draped across his knees. As sleep finally took him his last thoughts were simply, 'So peaceful, so beautiful…'

Xx

Back by the fire, Salina asked the others, especially Shippo, to let the two have their privacy and not bother them until morning. She stated simply that Kagome needed her rest and that Inuyasha could keep watch over her for the night.

"Sango?" she asked the taijiya. "I know it's probably a very personal question, but I wonder at times how you can stay so strong, even with the loss of your family weighing you down so."

Sango looked up, surprised, and the pain shadowed her lovely features darkly in the flickering light of the fire; she seemed to age visibly. "Because…" she began slowly. "I can remember my father's voice still, echoing in my heart and ears. He said, 'Always be strong, Sango, no matter what terrible things may come to pass. Grief and worry are the greatest of man's distractions and if you should become distracted, you could easily become hurt, and you know how much it saddens me to see you suffering.'" Although she managed to keep her voice steady, thin steams of tears trickled unbidden from her eyes as she spoke. Instinctively, Miroku scooted closer to Sango and pulled her shoulders slowly into his protective embrace. The demon hunter hesitated only a moment before she gave in and snuggled her face into his warm robes.

Salina took this as her queue to leave, picked Shippo up, and walked to the sleeping bag. As they settled in, Salina let out a long ragged sigh, the kind that one makes after they've cried for a long time, and she held the drossy kitsune close to her.

"Salina… I love you." He only whispered it, but she knew that of all of them, he must have had it the worst, Inuyasha excluded. But, to her, he was the bravest because he was so young yet he rarely complained in front of anyone else.

"I love you too, Shippo-chan. I could never and would never, take your parents place, but, if you'd have me, I think I could make a good aunt." She breathed into his sensitive ears, and he turned to look his in the face with watery eyes.

"I'd like that" he said. "I miss them a lot, all the time, but you know what? I think what Sango's dad said, is something my father might have told me." With a sigh of resolve he steeled his voice and continued. "So I'll be strong and live a long and happy life, and I'll make him proud of me, no matter where he is now." Salina could no longer bite back the tears that were threatening to fall, and she kissed him lovingly on his head before she settled back down to sleep. 'You're so young, yet so wise and brave, I admire your strength little one.' And she told him so before she dozed off to sleep.

Xx

The next day, Salina set directly to convincing Inuyasha to take Kagome home. While at first he'd been reluctant, he gave in at last as Salina suggested that he come with to make sure they didn't 'waist' any time there.

"Only the time necessary for her to get completely better, then we'll return immediately to continue this quest." She explained to the frowning hanyou.

Sango and Miroku stood to the side, silently admiring Salina's tact. 'Of course he'd agree now, she gave his the perfect excuse to stay by Kagome's side.' Sango thought with a smile. "Yes, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and I will wait at Keade's until Kagome's back in tip-top shape."

"Then it's settled; let's get going. The sooner we get Kagome home, the sooner we can get back on the road again." Miroku added just to get them started.

Xx

To make more speed, Sango, Salina, and Miroku rode Kirara, while Shippo road on Inuyasha's shoulder and watched the weary Kagome cradled in his arms. Since they left camp early, they would try to make it all the way to the well before sunset, but only if they pushed hard.

Leaping through the air, Inuyasha was so content to have Kagome back in his arms that he hardly minded the annoying demon cub propped upon his shoulder. 'As long as he stays quiet, everything will be just fine.'

"Inu… yasha?" He looked down at a drossy Kagome and smiled warmly, the kitsune forgotten completely.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"I just wanted to say thank you, for staying with me last night and for being so considerate through this whole thing. It would have been a lot harder for me to deal with without your help and I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it, is all. It really means a lot to me." Her voice was sincere, but groggy, and Inuyasha was so proud he nearly flew directly into a tree-top in his rueful delight. He never once considered that the 'medicine' Salina had given Kagome, was something that could muddle her thoughts. Zanex(sp) worked wonders on the pain drunk mind.

Salina laughed as she scene unfold, but had to remind herself sternly that such obvious pushes could hinder, rather than help, their relationship if either of them found out the truth behind that happy moment. 'Well it serves them right for being so stubborn to begin with,' she thought. 'And it was okay just this once.' Then she returned her attention to the rather heavy bicycle that she was trying balance as she rode on the back of the giant cat demon.

Xxooxxoo

… At LAST! I'm finally done with this chapter. My life is simply too darn busy to knock these out in one sitting, so I'm sorry for the inconvenience of reading it in pieces. I hope to get chapter 4 started today and hopefully finish it in the next couple days… but not likely.:( NEwayz hope you enjoyed and PLEASE for the love of Pete, could someone write me a damn review? Even just an acknowledgement that you hate it for what ever reason… I'm beginning to get disheartened.