Nataku-chan - Saa, minna, here is yet another chapter of "Don't You Dare!" for your reading
enjoymnet!

Miss Chang Po - Sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Things have been
so busy for the both of us and fanfiction just got put on the backburner.

Nataku-chan - Speaking of burning... they're going to be roasting you on a
spit unless you hurry up with "Heart of Space, Dove of Peace"

Miss Chang Po - Yes, yes... a thousand and one apologies for my delays,
it seems coming up with a believable resolution is proving to be harder than
I thought... But rest assured... I'm working on it as quickly as I can.

Nataku-chan - In the meantime, be sure to send us more reviews! They
make us happy! ^_^

Chapter 12

She was still mad at him! Inu Yasha cursed inwardly in frustration. Any one
could tell just by looking at her that she was angry! She sat under the
shade of the tree in which he was perched, writing furiously in what he
guessed to be a journal of sorts. Occasionally she would stop writing for a
moment, only to rake her hand through her hair, mutter a few choice words
under her breath, and then she would start the whole process over again.

She wasn't talking to him, and that bothered him. Granted, Inu Yasha had
never been a very social person - that much was sure. He usually preferred
solitude to the company of others simply because that was what he was
accustomed to. While he enjoyed the company of Sango and Miroku (and
sometimes Shippo, too), there were many times he wished that it was just
him searching for the Shikon no Tama; along with Kagome, of course.

Inu Yasha paused mid-stretch. 'I did not just think that…' He stared down at
the young girl on the ground below.

~ Yes, you did…~ snickered that little voice. ~ You just admitted that you
like being alone with Kagome! ~

'Yeah, so? So what if I prefer being with her than anyone else? It's not like
it means anything!'

~ You keep telling yourself that, buddy…~

'You…' Inu Yasha thought, his inner voice filled with bitter conviction. 'Are a
pain in the ass.'

~ I know. ~ the voice replied smugly.

A short 'keh' was his only response. Satisfied that he had gotten the last
word, Inu Yasha abandoned his perch, landing in a crouching position a few
feet from the young miko at his left.

She didn't seem phased at all by his appearance. "You should be careful,"
she replied, not looking at him. "You'll reopen your wound."

The hanyou gave a derisive snort in response, muttering something about
stupid scratches. When the young girl next to him did not reply, he scowled
in annoyance. "Still not talking to me?"

Kagome didn't look at him. "I don't see why I should," she replied idly. "It's
not like we have anything to talk about."

Oh, so it was going to be like that. "We never had anything to talk about,"
Inu Yasha replied, doing well to keep the regret out of his tone. "Forgive me
if I don't pretend to give a damn about what goes on in your pathetic little
time."

That one had stung, though Kagome did well to hide it. She stood up,
rubbing her ankle lightly. "Well, I suppose we should be on our way."

Inu Yasha didn't move. What was she so pissed about? If it was about him
following her, she just needed to get over it. He had told her right from the
beginning that he wouldn't allow her to go alone. Had he been speaking
another language? 'If anyone should be mad,' he kept telling himself, 'it
should be me… I was the one who got frickin' sat THREE times!'

He glared at her again, though his scowl dissolved when he saw her still
rubbing her ankle. A faint purplish bruise was starting to form underneath
her hand. "You should give your ankle more rest." he replied. "Don't wanna
end up spraining it."

"It'll be just fine," Kagome replied, her lips forming a thin line. However, she
sat back down, still avoiding his gaze. "Despite what you may think, I am
not that weak."

Inu Yasha blinked. So that's what this was about. His ears drooped slightly
at the thought of all the things he had said to her. She hadn't done anything
to deserve such treatment; hell, she never did anything to be deserving of the
way he treated her.

His ears lay flat against his head. He really had been a pompous jackass.
Inwardly, he took a deep breath, preparing for the worst. "…I'm sorry…"

Kagome blinked, turning to face him as if she hadn't heard him.

Inu Yasha turned away, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "I said
I'm sorry…" he murmured, quickly averting his gaze at her look of surprise.
"About all the things I said back at the village… I didn't really mean any of
it… so, I'm sorry."

Kagome sighed, looking down at her hands placed neatly in her lap. "No,
you're not."

Inu Yasha blinked, his ears flipping back upwards. "What's that?" he
gawked.

The young miko turned back towards him, a knowing look on your face. "I
know you, Inu Yasha…" she replied softly. "I know you're not really sorry…"

Inu Yasha was still gawking at her, struggling for something to say, but only
coming up with strangled sounds of disbelief.

"You always do things like that…" she went on. "I try to get close to you,
and you say things like that to keep me away… that's why you said those
things, to make me get angry with you and go back through the well."

So, he'd been busted. "Well, if you know that, ya gotta know why I did it!"
Inu Yasha exclaimed.

"You were trying to protect me," Kagome replied, noting the edge of panic in
his voice. Did he really think she was that angry with him? "I understand…
I was trying to do the same thing…"

Inu Yasha gave her a 'huh' look.

~ Don't you get it… I don't need you! ~

"Oh, come on!" Kagome exclaimed, a little frustration showing in her tone.
"I knew that you'd try to follow me once I got far enough from the village.
Give me a little credit…" She looked away from him.

"Everyone seems to think that I'm just something that has to be looked after
all the time… like I'm not strong enough to do anything on my own. And it
hurts…" She clenched her fists tightly in her lap. "I thought… just once…
that if I could stand up to you, that I'd stand a chance of…"

Inu Yasha shook his head, his eyes shut tightly. "Kagome, just stop it!" he
cried out. "Stop it already!" Kagome blinked at him surprise. He opened
his eyes, their golden depths flashing angrily. "I can't believe you would do
something so stupid…"

"Stupid?" Kagome shot up, glaring down at him. "Who's the one who's
risking their health and their life just to follow after me? Huh? How's that for
stupid!"

Inu Yasha gritted his teeth, looking away from her. "I'm doing this to protect
you," he muttered. Turning back to her he snapped out, "Why can't you
understand?!"

"Well, why can't you understand that I'm trying to protect you!" she exclaimed.
The hanyou gawked in surprise. "Oh yeah, sure… you can pretend that
you're all high and mighty - that you don't need anyone to look after you…
And why should you? You're certainly not a child… and neither am I!"

Her fists remained clenched at her sides. "Sure, I wasn't raised in this
world… I grew up knowing nothing about fighting and battles, but I'm
learning… and I'm getting stronger every day!"

"Getting there isn't enough, Kagome," Inu Yasha ground out.

"Maybe not," she replied softly, ducking her head down. "But it'll have to do
for now… I won't be weak anymore… I can't allow myself to be a
weakness… your weakness…"

Inu Yasha stiffened, smelling the salty tears threatening to spill down her c
heeks. Her words had struck him… he'd often felt the same way about her,
and somehow she'd known it all along. "Kagome…"

She stiffened, turning away from him. 'No… I can't let him see me like
this…' she told herself. 'I have to be stronger… I can't let him know…' She
trailed off of that thought, knowing it would do no good for her current
situation.

All the while, Inu Yasha kept his gaze upon her, never wavering. His youkai
senses were taking in everything - the ever so slight change in her scent, the
way her body trembled with the effort to contain her emotions… it was all
driving him nuts. Even as he struggled to keep himself from snatching her
up in a fierce embrace, he couldn't help but be in awe by her.

'She expects so much of herself…' he thought idly. 'She's a lot stronger
than I give her credit…'

~ She's a lot stronger than you in some ways, too, ~ nagged that little voice. Inu Yasha couldn't help but agree. ~ So, why don't you tell her that? ~

'That's not what she wants to hear,'

~ Well, what does she want to hear? ~

Inu Yasha paused, frowning slightly. "I don't know…"

Kagome glanced over at him. "What?"

The hanyou jerked, wincing when he jarred his wound lightly. Glancing back
up at Kagome, he saw the look of worry on her face quickly shoved down by
calm indifference. So, she was trying to be like him? He leveled her with his
own look. "Why are you doing this?"

She blinked, completely thrown off. "What?"

Inu Yasha held his gaze on her, searching her face. "Why are you doing all
of this?" he asked again. "Taking off on your own, nearly getting yourself
killed… for what?"

Blinking several more times, the young priestess' form quickly turned to
anger. The hanyou tensed himself to back away in case she decided to
start swinging, only to realize that her anger was not directed towards him.
She turned away from him, keeping her head ducked low.

His brows furrowed in confusion. "Kagome…?"

"This… this is all my fault." Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap, her
nails biting at her palms. "All of this is my fault."

Inu Yasha stared at her in silence for a few moments before frowning once
more. "What the hell are you talking about?" he growled. "Of course it's
your fault!" The look of hurt that flashed over her face did not go unnoticed.
He folded his arms in irritation. "If you had just gone home like I told you
to, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Kagome blinked. Without out warning, she snapped her head towards him,
eyes blazing. "BAKA! That's not what I was talking about!" she screeched,
rising to her feet. A pain shot through her wounded ankle, causing her to
yelp out in surprise. Inu Yasha was immediately on his feet, moving towards
her to steady her. Batting his hands away, she hobbled a few steps back,
steadying her weight on her good leg as she continued to blaze and burn
with an unbridled rage that only Higurashi Kagome could possess.

"You don't understand!" she raged. "Baka! How dare you say something
like that to me!"

Inu Yasha clamped his hands over his sensitive ears, shooting her a sharp
glare. "Oi, wench! Stop your shrieking already!"

"I'll stop 'shrieking' when I'm good and ready, Inu Yasha!" she exclaimed.
"You should know by now that I'm not about to listen to anything you might
try to order me into!" The hanyou snorted. She turned away, folding her
arms over her chest. "Right… be like that - why did I even think you would
understand what I'm talking about."

Inu Yasha regarded her curiously. "Oh yeah?" He moved to stand in front of
her. "Make me understand then."

Kagome paused, staring up at him in bewilderment. He was close to her,
too close in fact. The young girl found that she should have been
uncomfortable, but she found herself transfixed by the hanyou's intent gaze.
His amber orbs bore into hers as if she were the only thing to be seen.

'It's… it's almost like before…' Her heart began thumping wildly in her chest.
Inu Yasha noticed this and, mistaking her reaction for fear, took a small step
backwards. "Well?" he asked, trying to remain impatient. "Explain to me
how this is your fault - since I'm apparently too ignorant to understand."

She winced, realizing how her words must have sounded. "Inu Yasha… I…"
Sighing heavily, she sat back down in the grass. Drawing up her knees, she
hid her face behind her knees.

Golden eyes regarded her worriedly. "Kagome…?" No answer. "Oi, wench,
answer me already! I don't have time to play your stupid guessing games,
y'know." Grounding his teeth, Inu Yasha steeled his resolve and plopped
down beside her. He looked out over the creek, though keeping his attention
on her. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened to me," he replied
gruffly.

"Huh?" Grey eyes snapped up towards him.

"It was bound to happen," His eyes remained straight ahead, casual and
indifferent. "It's not like I was gonna let that monster get the better of me by
escaping with the Shikon no kakera."

She blinked at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. "But…" she
stammered, swallowing lightly to regain her composure. "Regaining the
shards is my responsibility!"

"And protecting you is mine," Inu Yasha replied absently. "We've been
through this before, haven't we?"

"Yes, but…" Her hands remained clenched tightly in her lap. "We wouldn't
have to if the Shikon no Tama hadn't been shattered in the first place…"

Inu Yasha blinked, and then blinked again. She blamed herself for that? He
found himself staring back at her in wonder. Sure, he'd thrown that back in
her face many a time when they'd found themselves facing more adversity
than normal. Still, he'd never expected her to take any of his grumbling
seriously to heart.

Her words came back to him again. ~ "It's already too much to bear." ~

A brief pain shot through him; though not exactly originating from his injury,
a clawed hand went to his side nonetheless. He grumbled lightly in feigned
annoyance.

Kagome glared at him beneath ivory bangs. "I don't see you making any
attempts to deny it." she remarked.

"Why should I?" he countered, keeping his gaze away from her. "It's the
truth. If you had just given me the Shikon no Tama like I asked from the
beginning, none of us would be in this mess," Before she could make any
sort of remark, he quickly added. "But we wouldn't have met any of the
others either."

"That's… true…"

He snorted. "Of course it's true." He folded his arms into his haori, scowling
at her sideways. "So there's no point in trying to point fingers or crap like
that… what's done is done - there's nothing we can do about it."

'Nothing we can do about it…?' Kagome repeated in her head. Her mind
went back to the moment in which she had entered the hut after Kaeruishi's
departure. The look on Inu Yasha's face at that moment had been one of
defeat, of calm acceptance of the hand dealt him. She glanced back at him
gazing out over the creek; he looked as though he were a thousand miles
away. 'Nothing…'

End of Chapter 12