Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha, I am only using the characters for my own personal amusement. (Not like that, hentai!)

AN- This chapter will (hopefully) make a few things clearer. On with the show!

Insight

Her heartbeat was coming a little too loud and fast for his liking. He knew she was probably just having a nightmare, but he couldn't help but want to wake her anyways, just to make sure she was okay. Suddenly her heart gave an almost imperceptible pause before picking up even faster, frightening him. He was reaching to wake her up, hand already on her shoulder, when Kagome abruptly opened her eyes with a gasp.

"Inuyasha!"

Startled, he jerked back and fell to the floor from his perch on the side of the bed. "What? I didn't do it!"

Kagome hadn't heard him though. She was still half asleep and was only now getting rid of most of the fog in her brain. Sitting up on one elbow, she pressed a hand to her racing heart. 'What happened? I feel so scared… I must have had a nightmare or something.' She tried to remember what had upset her enough to wake her in the middle of the night, but couldn't come up with more than a vague memory of a forest. 'How weird…' Glancing at her alarm clock, she could see her glow-in-the-dark hands pointing to quarter after three. Kagome gave a little sigh as she flopped back down to the mattress, hoping she would be able to go back to sleep. The thought had only just left her brain, when she began to drift off once more.

Inuyasha watched her without speaking for a while. Sure that she was deeply asleep and having pleasant dreams this time (judging from the tiny smile on her mouth), Inuyasha sat on the edge of her bed once more and absently brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. What had made her so scared as to wake up and call out for him? Would she tell him if he asked? Did he even want to know the answer? Finding no answers in his own head, he contented himself to watching Kagome's now peaceful face for the rest of the night.

She arrived to school on time the next morning, and had actually woken up in a good mood when her alarm went off. The small amount of recollection she'd had from her dream had flitted away, along with any knowledge that she had woken at all in the middle of the night. The teachers were merciless as usual and as she walked home from school that afternoon, she felt as though her back might snap in two from all the books she was dragging home.

"Uhg, if they're going to give us so much to bring home, they could at least make the books a little lighter," Kagome grunted as she adjusted her backpack once more on her shoulders to keep it from digging in so much. The bag unexpectedly lifted a fraction of an inch, relieving her sore shoulders from most of the burden.

"Oh, wow…thanks Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, well if you walk any slower we're gonna start going backwards." Resisting the urge to tease him a little for his kindness, but knowing he would drop the bag right back on her shoulders if she did, she picked up her pace so he would be happy.

"You know, you've been awfully quiet today."

"What are you talking about? I'm always quiet when you're in classes."

Kagome nodded her head in agreement. "I know. That's not what I meant though. This morning…I don't know… You seemed less talkative than normal."

"We already covered the fact that I'm not a chatterbox like you."

She laughed a bit at that, trying to picture Inuyasha as a 'chatterbox' and failing miserably. "Okay, okay. Forget I said anything." And she continued home in amiable silence. Inuyasha however, was thinking over what she had said. It was true; he had been a bit lost in thought this morning and had not spoken with her as much as he usually did. He really hadn't thought she would have noticed though. Of course, her power of observation had surprised him before, so maybe it wasn't that odd she had picked up on the lack of conversation. As long as she didn't wonder what he was thinking of to make him so quiet, he really didn't care either way.

And that is what he was repeating to himself over and over as they reached the shrine step and started into the courtyard. He didn't care. He didn't care what she thought. He didn't care if she liked talking to him enough to notice his quietness. He didn't care if he wished he could tell her what was on his mind. He didn't care that he knew she would listen to him and not judge. He didn't care about her. And that, he realized with a pang, was the biggest lie he had ever told himself. He watched Kagome wave to her grandfather, who was selling charms to a couple near the door to the temple. When had this girl slipped under his defenses? All the years he had spent in other people company, he had never let himself become attached to them. He had learned his lesson after the first one...

His first venture into Guardianship had been an older woman with three children and another on the way. After the first few weeks of not knowing what the hell had happened to him and refusing to except his fate, he had come to realize there was probably no way out of this other than to go with it and hope it wore off soon. The woman, Sumika, was quiet and calm, with an average face and figure. And just like any other woman he had ever come across. He couldn't understand why he had been sent to her home of all places. Actually he hadn't understood a lot of things.

Sumika's husband was an idiot. He drank too much and was a worthless waste of space in Inuyasha's opinion. He longed to beat the shit out of the bumbling moron, but though he had tried on many occasions to do just that, he could never manage to do anything more than give himself a massive headache. Except on one night that, even now, he remembered with malicious satisfaction. Two months after he had opened his eyes to find himself outside a small shabby looking hut, the husband had come home drunker than usual one night. The children were in bed and Sumika was waiting with dinner prepared as a good wife did. Inuyasha knew for a fact Sumika was an excellent cook, (his nose never lied to him) but for some reason it wasn't good enough for the waste-of-breath that was married to her. The fool threw his bowl on the floor and yelled stupidly at his wife for being useless. By this time Inuyasha was digging his claws into his palms and gritting his teeth in an effort to restrain himself from going after the idiot and ending up with another migraine. Unfortunately Sumika's husband wasn't finished. He reached over and grabbed her arm, jerking her over to him, and then proceeded to hit her in the face. Repeatedly. Inuyasha saw red. Rushing over to the pair and not caring if he got the worst headache in the world because of it, he concentrated as hard as he could to seize her husband. He could feel the man's shirt bunch in his hand as he grabbed him. In one swift motion, he yanked the man from his wife and threw him into the wall across the room, knocking everything over on the way and causing everything on the shelves to come crashing to the ground. He stood, stunned for a minute, before grinning evilly and making his way over to the now unconscious form of the man. But sadly, whatever had allowed him to toss Sumika's husband ten feet across a room would not allow him to touch him now that he was no longer a threat. Shame that.

From that day on, the man had given his wife a lot more time to herself. Probably thinking it had been her that tossed him into the wall. Inuyasha learned a few things over the course of his stay in the little hut. He could freely touch anyone as long as he intended no harm. He could move things and, he was glad to see, his strength was the same as it had always been. No one could see or hear him, though animals gave him a wide berth. Children drove him crazy. He never got hungry, though he could taste and eat things just as well as before. All of his senses worked perfectly, though sometimes that was not exactly a blessing in such a small house. If he tried to leave, he became overcome with pain. It would start out as a slight pulling feeling from his chest area, almost like a little reminder not to get too far away. If he ignored the feeling, it would grow to an ache, and then slowly into a sharp cramping sensation, as if someone were squeezing him from the inside. Though he almost passed out from just that, he once tested the range to see how far away he could get. Around fifty feet or so, it began to feel as though his entire body was simultaneously being crushed and burned from the inside out. Needless to say, he hadn't repeated the experiment.

So other than the fact that he was invisible and mute to the world, he felt that he was more or less just as he had been before he died. That and how he seemed to be like a dog on the world most painful leash. Was he really dead at all then? He would know if he was a ghost or a spirit wouldn't he? He seemed solid enough, but maybe it was just how ghosts felt? He still hadn't figured out if he was truly dead or not, but had figured eventually that he may as well have been.

Life continued for Sumika as it always did. He began to accustom himself to her quiet life of being a mother and wife, though he longed to be able to run away into the forest outside her home. Many days he would find himself speaking to her as though she could hear him. Eventually he found himself liking her a little. She was a human, and she wasn't special in any way at all, but her lovingness with her children and her patients and calm ways made him think that perhaps she wasn't such a bad person to know. Sumika had become pregnant in the time he had been there (thank the gods he had been able to at least leave the house when that happened) and soon came the day when she was to give birth. It seemed to Inuyasha that she was in a lot more pain that should have been necessary, but the mid-wife was encouraging and though he hated seeing any woman in pain and especially someone as nice as Sumika, he had to content himself to pacing the room as she groaned in agony on the floor mat. He was sure something was going wrong even before the mid-wife's encouragement and helpful words died away. His inner radar that warned him when she was in danger was going off alarmingly, but he couldn't think of anything that he might be able to do. He kneeled, instead, next to her anguished form, ignoring the smell of blood, and laid his hand on top of hers, trying to give her his own silent strength. Some time later, she gave one final mighty push and a minute later the sound of tiny cries filled the air. Instead of giving her congratulations though, the mid-wife simply cut the baby from its mother and wrapped up the small child before laying her on Sumika's stomach and looking down at her with sad eyes. Inuyasha couldn't think of what the problem was and why she hadn't told her what her baby was or asked what name she had chosen. Soon though, the smell he had been ignoring assaulted his nose full force. Blood, and lots of it. It clicked in his mind then, that no one could bleed so much and live, not even during childbirth. A cold feeling washed over him. He could now see the color leaving Sumika's face rapidly and her arms that had been wrapped lightly around the baby began to droop. The mid-wife gently lifted the baby away from its mother as the last light from her eyes faded and her empty arms slipped to the floor.

Inuyasha's last, uncomprehending thought before slipping into dreamless sleep was, 'She didn't even know it was a girl…'

It had only seemed like a moment had passed when he opened his eyes again, to find himself outside a new home and feeling the familiar tug towards a new human. His mind reeled at the unfairness of it all and his heart ached for the loss of such a kind soul as Sumika. It wasn't until much later he found out several decades had passed since he was last awake. The passage of time had confused him at first, but after the fourth or fifth time of guarding, he began to just ignore it. Time didn't really have meaning to him anymore.

Each instance before he woke to protect someone new, he always heard the same voice. "Awaken, Guardian." And he would open his eyes to find himself being pulled toward some new, random person. He had kept his distance from them though, he no longer talked to them as if they were having a conversation and he didn't laugh at the antics of children any more. If he saw a tender family moment, he turned his back and pretended he was somewhere else. It wasn't hard really. He wasn't actually a part of there lives anyways. It seemed to him that each time he left before falling asleep, he had made no noticeable difference in anyone's life, so what was to decide when he was done or not? Obviously if they died he was no longer needed, but what about the others? It was random and confusing at best and Inuyasha was getting sick of it all.

And then he found Kagome.

Inuyasha was shaken from his mental meanderings by a loud thump.

"Done!"

The thump had been Kagome slamming shut her language book. Now she leaned back in her chair with a happy grin on her face. "That went a lot faster than I thought it would. Look, it's still light out." She pointed to the low hanging sun, partially visible through the curtains. She rolled her head on her shoulders, trying to work out some of the stiffness, then jumped up and headed for the door.

"Let's go for a walk around the yard and watch the sun set before dinner. I need to stretch my legs." Not waiting for a reply, she opened the door and started down the hall. On her way out the door, she stopped by the kitchen and yelled to her mother that she saw going for a quick walk.

"Okay honey, don't be too long."

"I won't mom." And she skipped to the door, squinting a little in the evening sunlight as she slid open the door.

Their pace was slow as they made their way around the yard. When they were only halfway towards the front, Kagome stopped and leaned against the fence around the main shrine, her back to the temple. She just stood there for a few minutes, letting the warmth from the sun sink into her skin and letting the breeze play with her hair. Inuyasha had never seen someone look so peaceful. So naturally he had to say something to snap her out of it.

"If you're waiting for me to say something, don't bother. I just don't feel like talking today."

A smile quirked he lips. "Actually I wasn't waiting for you to speak; I just wanted to enjoy the view for a minute. And by the way, you're the one who talked first and that means you obviously felt like saying something."

"No it doesn't"

"Sure it does. People don't just say that they don't feel like talking, out of the blue, unless they really do want to say something."

"That's not always true…"

She shrugged. "Maybe. But it's true this time." And when there came no response, she knew she had been right. He had just been too quiet lately. Something was on his mind and she was dying to know what. It had taken more will power than she cared to admit to keep from asking him, several time during the day, what was wrong. He was stubborn and she knew he would have just told her to bug off. Though it probably wouldn't have come out quite that nice. But as stubborn as she knew he was, she also knew he was impatient and if she kept quiet long enough, he would eventually say something. Or not. It was a risk she was willing to take though. She hated the idea that she might not be able to lift him out of whatever funk he had himself in, but she was willing to try at least.

"So…" she started, hoping he would follow up.

"So, what?"

Okay, obviously he couldn't take a hint. She tried another tactic. "You know, when I'm feeling sad, it helps me to talk to someone about it. My mom always says that a burden shared between two people will weigh half as much as it would with just one person. She isn't just talking about backpacks either Inuyasha…" Kagome trailed off quietly and waited for him to say something.

"I know you're just trying to be your irritatingly helpful self, but this is my backpack and I want to carry it by myself. Just leave me alone already." His voice wasn't exactly angry, but it had an edge to it that said if she continued to push the subject, anger wouldn't be far off.

Kagome let it drop for now, determined to pick it up at another time. Looking around the yard in search of something else to talk about, Kagome spotted a mound of fur curled up in a patch of dying sunlight. "Buyo, you lazy kitty!" She walked over to the calico and scooped him up with both hands, cuddling him to her face before settling him into her arms. "What are you doing out here? It's almost dinnertime." The cat's ears twitched slightly at the mention of dinner and he gave a little flick of his tail. Inuyasha watched as she scratched the chubby cat's chin and ears, cooing all kinds of nonsense and hugging it to her chest. He didn't know whether to be disgusted or amused.

"You spoil that cat too much."

Kagome continued scratching the feline's stomach as she replied. "No I don't." And here she changed her voice into that high pitched tone that parents take with very young babies. "He's a good kitty-witty cat, isn't he? Yes you are, my sweet little Buyo-chan. Who's a cute kitty? Huh? Who's the cutest little kitty in the whole wide world?"

"Damn, I think I'm going to be sick…"

Kagome grinned as she twirled around in a circle with the cat in her arms. "Buyo! Buyo! My precious kitty Buyo!"

Inuyasha just shook his head and smiled. He knew what she was trying to do and he appreciated it. "Come on Kagome, put the cat down before it throws up on you."

Kagome stopped her twirling at his notably lighter remark. Feigning dizziness, she dropped to her butt and flopped onto her back with the now squirming cat still in her arms. "Give me a minute."

"I'll give you all the time you want. Buyo's the one who gonna hurl on you."

"Nah, we do this all the time, he's fine."

"All the time? Man do I feel sorry for that cat."

Sitting up, Kagome grinned in his direction. "Oh come on, you know you're jealous. You're just dying for me to scratch your ears aren't you?"

"Feh, whatever. I think you're confusing who wants to scratch my ears wench. And I told you already to stay away from them, so don't go trying anything sneaky."

Kagome put an innocent and hurt expression on, pressing a hand to her heart. "You wound me sir, I would never dream of sneaking up on you when you least expect it, tackling you to the ground and tweaking your ears til you beg for mercy. I'm surprised you would even say such a thing."

"Uh-huh. Get off the ground, it's time to go inside."

Kagome obediently removed herself from the ground with Buyo still tucked in her arms, though it took a minute to get up with the cat weighing her down. When she stood up she glanced over to the now setting sun. "Now even you have to admit that's a beautiful sunset."

Looking over at the lovely array of colors splashed across the sky, he had to agree, it did look nice. But it wasn't until he looked back at Kagome's face with the rosy colors reflected on her features that he said in agreement, "Beautiful."

AN- A little fluffiness at the end to take away from the depressing nature of the rest. I really liked this chapter myself, so I hope you guys enjoy it too.

Q and A

Q. kuroi ryu yuri- Will she tell Inuyasha her dream in the next chapter?

A. So far she hasn't remembered her dreams, but later on she will.

Q. Inuyasha-craver- When are you going to make Inuyasha and Kagome hook up?

A. Patients, grasshopper…

Q. angel-tears-16- How are you going to tie that all in? Any particular way? Does that have something to do with the curse?

A. Not sure, not really, totally

Q. NekoYasha101- Is Kagome going to go to Inuyasha's time and set him free, taking the curse off him and setting him free?

A. That…is why you must keep reading. (Insert evil smile.)

Bye for now.