Ch. 16:

As Kagome sat there, loving the feel of being cuddled against Inuyasha and enjoying the attention he was giving her even more. She was so caught up in the moment, that she was shocked when a high-pitched squeel filled the air.

She jumped in her place, but Inuyasha jumped straight up onto his feet so quickly that he knocked Kagome away from him and she painfully landed on her butt as she hit the ground.

"Inuyasha what were you doing to Kagome?" Shippou yelled demandingly as he came closer to them, glaring daggers at Inuyasha. He hopped up onto Kagome's lap and noted her rubbing her butt, too. He scoffed up at Inuyasha.

"And now look! You even hurt her!" Kagome glanced up at Shippou, and cocked one of her eyebrows.

"Look Shippou, i'm fine! You just startled us...that's all!" She stuttered as she felt her cheeks began to grow warm. 'Oh no!' She thought panicked 'I hope he didn't see us!' She tried to fan her hands in the air to make the blush go away.

Inuyasha looked at Kagome confused, and then looked at Shippou angrily.

"Are you really okay, Kagome?" He asked truly concerned, his eyes wide.

"What the hell are you talking about brat!" Inuyasha reached down and grabbed Shippou by his fuzzy fox-tail. Shippou defiantly kept arguing.

"You hurt her! Your lucky she forgave you this time!"

"For the last time.." Inuyasha's eye twitched. "It was an accident."

"It was an accident that you were trying to eat Kagome's face!" Shippou yelled at him, pointing his small finger at Inuyasha. "Don't try to make it seem like so! I saw you try to do it!" At seeing Inuyasha standing there so still, his mouth hanging open, and his wide shocked eyes with pupils dialiated...

'Most likely because I scared him.' Shippou puffed himself up proudly at his accomplishment, he then turned to Kagome, who he noted was very red in the face.

"Your so lucky! I got here just in time to save your mouth didn't I Kagome?" He asked happily.

He saw her mouth drop open in what she tried to make a smile but had seriously failed, as she had a similar expression to Inuyasha's on her face.

"S-Shippou, don't tell anyone about that ok?" She asked him when she was able to calm herself down just alittle, though she was positive that her face was as red as a tomato.

"Sure Kagome----But don't ya think that you should tell Kaede about his problem? I mean sometimes dogs tend to chew on things but I didn't know he'd do that to :you: of all people Kagome! But then again this :is: Inuyasha and---" Shippou stopped babbling on and looked up at Inuyasha, his green eyes very wide. "Y-your a demon! That's why your scent smells like when my mom and dad used to--"

"SHUT UP!" Inuyasha hollered loudly and heaved poor little Shippou through the air and over the trees until he was out of site and his screaming could no longer be heard. Inuyasha's cheeks were painted a tint of red as he glared off in Shippo's direction, panting hard, his pupils just tiny black dots in his eyes.

Kagome was sort of relieved Inuyasha had done that, she too had been feeling very awkward.

She watched him turn to her, a blush still there but she could immediately tell that he was not in a happy mood. She also still had a blush on her face. Why had he come at such a perfect time!

'But if he was here, then we should be close to Kaede's!' Kagome thought with releif. She shut her eyes with her eyebrows drawn tightly down and sighed.

"Kagome, let's go. We're not far off and i'm sure you can make it for one more mile." His voice had been stern.

She looked up at him, slightly agitated that he said that, she had only stopped for :him: she wasn't the one who had actually been tired!

She opened her mouth to say something but he turned his back to her and began to walk off.

She quickly got over it though as she followed him. For some reason as they approached Kaede's hut she began to think about her home.

She looked up towards the light blue sky, which she could just see bits and pieces of through the thick cover of dark green leaves which were hanging onto large and healthy limbs that were connected to these :huge: trees that completely towered over herself and Inuyasha. She noted the sun-rays that shone brilliantly through the small spaces in-between the trees as she turned away from the trees and looked ahead at Inuyasha, as she began to admire him to.

As he walked, he would occasionaly come under the rays of light which made him shine so beautifuly...

'Who could ever have hated him?'...she thought passionately as she was hypnotized by his demonic beauty.

She watched him from behind...even though he was a demon, he wasn't scary at all. Or at least his appearances wern't, but Kagome knew much better than that. He had protected her from every possible danger that had come her way, which was about everything. And here she was, still alive and walking through the woods back to her second home, all thanks to him. But what thanks did he have to give :her? She felt herself grow sad as she looked at his wounded shoulder and her blood-stained shirt.

Then she pondered with herself just when exactly it was that she had fallen so in love with him to be thinking about him in such a way!

She then remembered their first kiss back at the cave...it had felt so natural and good...maybe it was a good thing that it had been his human night because if he had been a demon then he probably would have heard her heart-beating ahundred times a second!

'Wait...if he's a full demon now then doesn't that mean he won't turn human ever again? How amazing that our first real kiss had been on his last human night!' She was both amazed and sad at once.

Kagome subconsciously brought her hand up to her mouth and brushed her fingers against her lips, remembering. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't realized until just then that they had made it to the outskirts of the village. She followed Inuyasha onto the thin little roads above the rice fields.

'Wait a minute...I hope he's not still angry! He hasn't said a word since Shippou has been gone---'

"Inuyasha?" She asked politely.

"Yah Kagome?" He replied softly to her. It sounded like he had been deep in his own thoughts too. He turned his head around to glance curiously at her.

"Um...How's your shoulder?" She asked him trying to start up a random conversation.

"It doesn't hurt, and it's stopped bleeding. All in all it's getting better." He told her in his usual Inuyasha voice as he turned away from her again.

"That's good!" She replied happily. "I'm relieved over that. I was worried back there that you had lost to much blood but it's all fine now isn't it?" He just kept walking, and that hurt her alittle but she got over it as they had come to the main village.

Inuyasha stopped suddenly in front of her and was concentrated on something ahead of him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked walking up beside him. When she got no responce from him she stared ahead curious and noticed a small group of men, about five, dressed all in black talking together not to to far away.

"Who are they?"

"Hell if I know." 'And what are they doing here?' He narrowed his eyes in agitation at the men. One of them noticed Inuyasha and made eye contact with him, then casually looked away.

He automaticaly did not like the guy.

"But i'm gonna find out."

"Inuyasha no!" Kagome grabbed his sleeve before he could walk off. "Don't start trouble!" She hissed. He glared down at her.

"I'm just gonna see who they are! No trouble!" He pulled his arm away from her and began to walk towards the group again. She glared back and grabbed the back of his haori.

"Inuyasha! Don't make me say "it"!" She warned him. He angrily stared down at her and both angry pairs of eyes locked. Ok, so she could dethiently tell he was ticked off.

"What's with you? Their probably just passing through the village Inuyasha! Let's just make a truce and go back to Kaede's and ask her about them all right?"

"Keh. What would she know about them."

"Well let's ask!" She finally convinced him to go, which relieved her.

As they were walking by the group of men Kagome glanced over at them. One of the men looked up and their eyes locked together. Kagome felt his dark blue eyes watching her until the two of them had gone out of site.

She didn't want to say anything to Inuyasha though because she did not want to get him riled up, but that guy, despite his good looks, gave her a strange vibe.