Chapter 14

"Hey." Kagome looked up from her journal to find a pair of

golden eyes blinking at her in curiosity. Inu Yasha was inches

away from her in a crouched position, staring at her intently.



Feeling self-conscious, Kagome backed further into the trunk of

the tree under which she was sitting. 'Why's he staring at me

like that?' she wondered. 'It's not the same as before… but it

still makes me feel weird…'

As she thought back on the moment they had shared in the hut,

a blush rose to her cheeks. She turned away form Inu Yasha in

hopes that he wouldn't see. "What?"

He had, of course, seen the blush and noticed the slight increase

in her body temperature, but thought it safer not to mention it.

"You still mad at me?"

Kagome blinked. "Mad at you?" Her brows furrowed in confusion.

Inu Yasha's ears twitched slightly as he tilted his head in curiosity.

"You were before," he replied tentatively. "You're not mad now?"

Confused as to why it would matter to him whether she was still

angry or not, Kagome shook her head. Setting down her journal,

she brought her eyes up to meet his shyly. "To be honest, I was

more angry with myself than anything else…"

"What for?"

"I already told you," Kagome sighed a bit impatiently. "I felt like

everyone always had to look after me because I can't do anything

on my own. I still feel that way."

"Don't be stupid," Inu Yasha replied, though a bit harsher than he

had intended. "Nobody's saying you're incompetent – I… we

protect you cuz--"

"Because what?" Kagome cut in. "I'm the 'shard detector'? That's

all I'm good for to you, isn't it?"

"Stupid!" Inu Yasha's tone held all the frustration he was feeling.

"You don't listen to anything do you? I told you it wasn't about

the shards – weren't you listening at all?"

Kagome turned away from him, sniffling in efforts to hold back

her tears. "Then… why are you here?"

Inu Yasha opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Taking no notice of him, Kagome continued. "I mean, here I am…

the supposed guardian of the Shikon no Tama, a miko who doesn't

know how to do anything priestess-like but shoot arrows and spot

shards!"

'Great…' Inu Yasha huffed in annoyance. This was not how he

wanted things to go. The girl was supposed to get mad and go

home, not start doubting herself! His anger faded when he saw

the first tear roll down her cheek. His expression softened as he

resisted the urge to brush it away.

~ Don't do that! ~ exclaimed one of those annoying little voices

in his head. ~ Why would you wanna do something stupid like

that anyway? ~

~ Yeah, ~ chimed in another. ~ She'd probably take it the wrong

way anyways. ~

Another voice, one Inu Yasha had yet to here before, chimed in

quietly, ~ There is no wrong way to take it. ~

~ Then why do it? ~ sneered one voice.

~ If you think you're so smart. ~ added the other.

~ Because, ~ replied the third voice, still softly. ~ They just

don't suit her… ~

The other two paused a moment.

With the sudden silence, Inu Yasha took the moment to study

Kagome's features. Thick, black hair, smooth clear skin, and

stormy gray eyes – currently brimmed with tears.

'He's got a point,' he thought to himself absently. 'They don't

suit her at all.'

~ I guess not, ~ agreed one voice sulkily.

~ Yeah, why's she gotta cry all the time anyway? ~ muttered

the other. ~ Women. ~

~ Yeah… women. Keh… ~

The third voice spoke again, sounding a bit frustrated, ~ That's

not what I meant, ~ it exclaimed. ~ I meant that she's too-- ~

'Pretty...' Inu Yasha's thoughts cut in. At that, he blinked.

'What?'

~ What? ~ echoed the first two.

The third voice cut in again, this time smug. ~ Exactly what

I was thinking. ~ If he had had a face, he'd probably be smirking.

Inu Yasha, however, found himself frowning. As if he didn't have

enough weirdness to deal with as it was.

'All right… I'm not sure why I haven't said anything before… but

isn't it a little weird for me to be having conversations in my

frickin' head?'

There was a snort. ~ Of course it would be if it was a voice you

didn't recognize, ~ replied one voice. ~ Dumb ass. ~

'Say that again?!'

~ Who cares whether he talks to himself or not! ~ replied the

second. ~ Just make sure nobody else finds out you think

Kagome is pretty! ~

'What…? Did I say…? All right, who the hell are you guys

anyway?!'

~ Well, if ya gotta know, ~ replied one voice, sounding exactly

like Inu Yasha, only a bit more condescending. The hanyou

could only blink in surprise. ~ I'm your voice of reason… or your

mind if that's how you wanna put it. ~

~ And I'm your pride, ~ said the second, also sounding like Inu

Yasha now, but very gruff and angry. ~ And if you don't like it,

you can kiss my proverbial ass. ~

Meanwhile, Kagome stared with teary eyes, at Inu Yasha who

stared blankly into space, blinking as if he had just been insulted.

"Inu Yasha…?" she called out cautiously.

'Well?' Inu Yasha thought impatiently, waiting for the third voice

to speak.

~ What are you waiting for me for? ~ asked the third voice dully.

~ It's Kagome you should be talking to. ~

'Oh yeah?' Inu Yasha frowned. 'And what would you know?'

~ A whole lot, ~ replied the voice smugly. ~ Especially

concerning what you want and what you need – meaning

Kagome. It's frickin' obvious to everyone you care about the

girl. You need to start being nicer to her – who knows how

much time you have left. Don't waste your chance, dumb

ass! ~

Bristling, Inu Yasha felt his face heat up. 'What the hell…?

What makes you the end all be all know-er of what it is I need?!'

~ I do. ~

Wishing this inner voice of his had a neck he could throttle, Inu

Yasha ground his teeth in frustration. 'And why is that, asshole?'

~ Because, oh jackass, ~ replied the voice softly, though still

with the same mocking tone underneath. ~ I'm your heart. ~

~~~



"Inu Yasha…?" The hanyou in question blinked, seeing a slim

hand being waved in front of his face. Kagome was staring at

him worriedly. "You okay…?"

"I'm fine."



Kagome didn't seem too convinced. He had been staring

blankly into space for a good five minutes. "Does your side

hurt? Maybe I should change your bandages…"



"I'm fine, Kagome," he replied again, this time a bit more firmly.



"Oh," With that, she stood up shakily, brushing herself off.

"I guess we should keep moving then."



Inu Yasha remained crouched, watching her movements. His

eyes narrowed slightly; her ankle was still too sore to be

applying pressure on it so soon. Realizing that he had yet to

move from his spot, Kagome turned back to face him, her

hands on her hips.



"Well, aren't you coming?" she asked. "And don't say anything

about still needing to rest my ankle. I'm more than capable of

taking care of myself."



Inu Yasha's eyes narrowed even further. "Just like you took

care of yourself with those thugs?"



Kagome started, tears welling up in her eyes once again. The

hanyou blinked again; he had wanted to make her angry, not

make her cry!



~ Hm… can't seem to get anything right, can you? ~ Funny

how his heart seemed to enjoy messing with his head.



'Shut up! I don't need your help, shit head!'



~ Suit yourself. ~



'Keh.' Inu Yasha paused as he watched Kagome lowered

herself back down against the tree trunk, her shoulders shaking.

"Kagome…" he began.

Kagome held back a sob. "I really am useless to you, aren't I?"

She turned to him with tears running down her face.



Inu Yasha sucked in a breath, the sadness she emanated

bringing a sharp pain to him. He lowered himself slowly to sit

next to her. "I didn't say you were useless," he replied gruffly,

trying to keep the concern out of his tone. "You're putting words

in my mouth."



Kagome let out a shaky laugh. It sounded like something a

husband would say in marriage counseling. At the remote

thought of them being a couple, Kagome blushed faintly.



"You know its true though," she continued. "At least I do

anyway… what kind of miko can't sense a bunch of youkai

that come up on her in the middle of the forest?"



Inu Yasha tensed, a mental image of those thugs

surrounding her coming to mind. "Is that what

happened?" he asked.



"Yeah," Kagome sniffed. "I didn't realize they were youkai

'til they had me completely surrounded." She rubbed the

tears from her eyes only to make room for more. "I didn't

have a chance of winning against them – I know – but I

didn't know what else to do. If you hadn't come along

when you did…" She looked up at him. "And I didn't

even thank you…"



Inu Yasha quickly looked away in efforts to hide the

flush in his cheeks. "Keh… you just need to get better,

that's all…" he muttered. "Just like you said."



Kagome blinked, her tears slowing. "Wha…? How?"



Inu Yasha gave her a sideward glance. "Do you know

how to sense ki?" he asked.



The young priestess shook her head, sniffling lightly.

"Just the shards…"



The hanyou turned to face her now, his expression

slightly intense. "No, I mean…" He paused, choosing the

right words in his head. "Can you sense people?"



"I don't know," Kagome replied, shaking her head in

confusion. "I don't understand what you mean."



Inu Yasha scratched his head, his expression one

of concentration. Kagome fought the urge to giggle;

he looked so cute like that!



"Okay," Inu Yasha brought his gaze back to her, his

eyes warm. "Try to think of it like this – you can sense

the shards, right?" Kagome nodded. "You feel their

presence, because you're familiar with them from when they

were in your body."



"Okay..." Kagome nodded, digesting his words.



"Right, so then take me for example," Inu Yasha continued. "I

can detect things – people and youkai alike – by their scent. I

can also sense their ki… or in a youkai's sense, you-ki."



"How do you do that?" Kagome asked.



Inu Yasha gave her a confident smirk. "It's easy." Kagome

opened her mouth to object. "And I'm gonna show you how to

do it." Before she could say anything, Inu Yasha took her by

the hands, lifting her to her feet.



"I-Inu Yasha!" Startled by the motion, she stumbled forward.

Quick to react, the hanyou steadied her in his arms.



"I didn't hurt your ankle, did I?" he asked softly.



Surprised by the gentleness he was displaying, Kagome

could only shake her head mutely. 'He never holds me

like this…' she thought numbly to herself. 'What's gotten

into him?'



Inu Yasha closed his eyes, for once able to ignore the

throbbing pain at his side. All of his senses were occupied

by the feeling of having Kagome in his arms. It was almost

euphoric.



'She feels nice…' he thought absently to himself. He lowered

his head to her shoulder, taking in the scent of her hair. 'Smells

nice, too… I should do this more often…'



Kagome was utterly enjoying the feeling of being in the hanyou's

arms when she blinked, remembering that he had promised to

show her something. "Inu Yasha…?"



"Hm…?" Inu Yasha was nuzzling against her hair. Did she really

want to stop him? He certainly didn't want to.



~ Who's gonna protect him when he gets too weak to protect

himself? ~ a little voice nagged at the back of Kagome's mind.

She sighed, looking up at him. "Weren't you going to show me

how to sense ki?"



'Oh yeah… I forgot about that…' "What do you think I'm doing?"



Kagome blinked. "What?" She frowned slightly. "Inu Ya--"



Inu Yasha tightened his hold on her slightly. "Be quiet," he

murmured. "Just listen for a minute."



Kagome did as asked, repositioning herself in a more

comfortable position against his chest. When he tensed a bit,

she looked up worriedly. "Did I hurt you…?"



"Keh… just be quiet." Luckily her head was positioned so that

she couldn't see him blushing. "What do you hear?"



"What do I hear?" Kagome questioned. "I hear your heartbeat…"



She was blushing, he could tell. 'At least I'm not the odd one

out…' he thought to himself. "Okay, so what does it feel like?" He

could sense her confusion at the question. "Focus on my

heartbeat and tell me not what you hear, but what you feel."



Kagome closed her eyes, concentrating on the low, rhythmic

pulsing beneath her head. At first she felt a little silly just

standing there listening to Inu Yasha's heartbeat. However, as

she stood there with his arms wrapped securely around her,

warmth slowly began to fill her. It was gradual, like the amber

glow in his eyes whenever he was concentrating on something, or

all encompassing when he was worked up or excited. She also

knew, however, that this warmth could turn into a searing heat

when he was angry or filled with extreme passion…



Blushing madly, Kagome opened her eyes, fisting the material

of Inu Yasha's haori. 'This… is this Inu Yasha's ki…?'



Inu Yasha was frozen stiff, reveling in the sensations he was

experiencing. It was one thing to have Kagome nestled so

closely in his arms, but while she had discovered his ki, she

had unknowingly wrapped hers around it almost like a gentle

caress. The hanyou was in pure bliss.

However, he also knew that while Kagome was a beginner at

sensing ki, she was also a miko. Just as he knew she could

make him feel sensations he wouldn't likely soon forget, she

could also unwittingly end up purifying him – which in the long

run wouldn't be pretty.



'Not that it matters much,' he thought to himself. 'I'm probably

not gonna be around in a month anyway – she'd be doing me a

favor.' At that, the dull pain from his wound slowly began to

return.



~ You idiot, ~ that voice nagged at him again. ~ Don't think like

that. What do you think would happen to Kagome if something

happened to you? ~



Inu Yasha stiffened, his brain returning to the task at hand. There

would be a time – Kami forbid - when he wouldn't be able to

protect her. He had to make sure that she could defend herself

in his absence. After all, he was the one that had dragged her into

this mess; he owed her that much.



He stared down at the young girl in his arms, who was slowly

starting to drift off into sleep. He smirked softly, nudging her

gently. "Hey… Kagome…"



She nuzzled against his chest a bit more. "Hmm…?"



The hanyou resisted the urge to chuckle. "Don't fall asleep on

me now, wench, we're not finished yet."



Eyes closed, Kagome frowned in confusion. "Hn? Wuzzah…?"

She heard Inu Yasha let out a cross between a snort and a sigh.

It was then that she felt his arms slip away from her.



And that's when everything came crashing down.