Chapter 13

Inuyasha's eyes shot open at the grip on his hand. "Ka-Kagome!" he cried. "NURSE! KAGOME'S AWAKE!" A nurse bolted into the room and began hovering over the girl, taking tests, talking to her, and removing her oxygen. Once everything settled down, and the nurse left the room, Inuyasha turned back to Kagome. His eyes met with hers. She's awake! Inuyasha immediately drew her into his arms and held her tightly. "Kagome! You're awake!"

"...and you're here in my era." she breathed weakly. Inuyasha frowned.

"I know you probably don't want to see me right now, but I don't care! I'm going to stay with you no matter what!" Inuyasha whined. He began to choke up, and he wondered if he'd be able to keep down his tears anymore.

"Inuyasha." she whispered. "Inuyasha, what happened to Kikyo? She was wishing for my soul... I could feel it... but someone stopped the wish... I think she died... Inuyasha... what happened?" Kagome whispered. Inuyasha pulled away so he could look her in the eye.

"She's finally at peace, where she should be." he replied. "She... I couldn't let her do that to you... so I put her to rest."

"What? You... you killed her? You stopped her? But if she had my soul you two could have lived together and had a normal life!" Kagome said in shock.

"I know... but that's not what I wanted, Kagome." he said. Kagome looked at him in confusion. Inuyasha just pulled her into another embrace.

"Why wouldn't you want to stay with her?" Kagome said a tad angrily. She was jealous of Kikyo, and she couldn't help it. Even though she was dead- because she was dead before and Inuyasha still didn't leave her.

"Well, because I realized that I didn't want to stay with her." he replied. Why am I feeling so hot and flustered? I... what's going on?

"...may I ask why?" Kagome asked softly.

"Sure." Inuyasha smiled.

"Why then?"

"Because I realized that I never truly loved her, Kagome. Not even when we were together. I finally realized it after all this time. What we had was respect for each other because we both knew how the other felt. Except... Kikyo wanted to change me right from the beginning. She wanted me to turn human for her. Being stupid and lonely I said yes. I didn't realize that it was all a ploy just to purify the jewel so Kikyo would no longer have to guard it. She was tired of her life, and I was a way to get out. She also hates me in this form. During our journey together, I found out that I really can't stand how cold and bitter she was. She always yelled at me for stupid things. Any time I spoke of you she'd argue with me. So... so when I found out what she was going to do with the jewel after she killed Naraku-"

"She killed Naraku?" Kagome asked in utter shock.

"Yes, she killed Naraku. Now can I continue without being interrupted?" Inuyasha teased. "That's how I got here. I used the completed jewel to reopen the well. I had to choose. Either you lived and she died, or she continued wandering and you died. Even though I never thought I would ever see you again, I couldn't bear the thought of you dead. I promised to protect you, remember? I know I didn't protect you this time, or even from myself, but I promise to never leave you again. I will always protect you. I won't ever let anything happen to you again. You were the first person since my mother to accept me for who- and what I am- without wanting me to change. You never expected me to be a certain way- you accepted me. You... you brought me back when I turned full-youkai. I need you Kagome. I need you!" Inuyasha cried, burying his head into her the crook of her neck. Kagome sighed and put an arm around him since her other arm was still hooked to the IV.

"I missed you, you know." she said simply. "Even when I was so angry with you, I just couldn't bring myself to get over you... but everything just got worse over time. The more I thought about you and the feudal era i'd feel sadder and sadder." she hugged him tighter. "I need you too, Inuyasha. My life is far too uneventful without you, ne?" she teased. Inuyasha laughed.

"Keh! That's right! You oughta be with me fighting demons and finding jewel shards!" Inuyasha choked on the last word. "At least, before it was completed, that is. Sorry... I still tend to forget." Inuyasha apologized.

"Wow. Just wow." Kagome pulled away from him. "Even though the whole stupid jewel is back together again, i'm still only your shard detector! Well, you don't need me now, Inuyasha! I was wrong to think you might have actually cared. Just like I thought when I first left you. You don't care about me enough to think of me as a friend!" she cried. "Why don't you just go back to your era, Inuyasha!" Inuyasha looked at the crying girl. He couldn't believe that he'd already screwed up! She should know by now that I don't just need her for detecting shards!

"No. Listen here, Kagome." he grabbed her shoulders and made her look him in the eye. "That's not why I need you, alright? I need you because I can't fight without you, I can't make ramen without you-heck I don't even have ramen! I can't laugh without you. I can't be happy without you! I can't... I can't go on if you're not there. There, are you happy? Look, you make me laugh! You always know what to say to cheer me up. You make me food which I couldn't make in a thousand years. You take care of me! All I want to do is be the same for you!" he cried. Wow. I didn't know I had that in me! I... still... it's how I feel. I... I wish I could put a name to this... friend? Maybe, but friend seems to shallow... Inuyasha's thoughts were interrupted by Kagome hugging him as tightly as she could. "Hu-what?" he choked.

"Inuyasha! You have no idea what it means to me for you to say all of those things! I... I thought maybe you didn't think of me as a friend!" she sobbed. Inuyasha just smiled, glad to have her back and well.

"So... you'll consider visiting me every now and then?" Inuyasha questioned. Kagome looked up at him with confusion.

"What do you mean, visit?" she asked.

"Well... now that Naraku is gone, I suppose you'll want to stay in your own era to go to your 'school' thing. I... I can't really stop you..." Inuyasha trailed off. Kagome laughed.

"Well, duh! I have to finish school, but on weekends and vacations and even after school i'll be there! You can count on it!" Kagome chirped. Inuyasha smiled.

"That's good. you'd better." he teased. Kagome noticed he was holding onto the jewel.

"What are you going to do with that?" she asked. "Are you going to become its guardian, or... or use it to become full demon...?" Kagome asked fearfully. Inuyasha sighed. What am I going to do? I don't know...

"I'm not sure yet. I just... I don't want it to cause any more grief than it already has." he simply stated. Kagome nodded.

"I'll stand by you... whatever your decision is." Inuyasha smiled.

"Thanks, Kagome. That means a lot."

"It's the truth!" Kagome smiled. "So, where's my family?" Kagome questioned. "I noticed they aren't here."

"Your mom needed rest so she could look after Jii-Chan and Souta, so Hobo was looking after you. When I got through the well, I talked to your mom and she told me to come here. I... uh... Hojo was still here... we sort of fought... not physically though! We just had... words... and he left. Kagome...um.." Inuyasha replied.

"Go on... you scared poor little Hojo away and then what?" she teased.

"I... he said you were with him. Like, he said you two might get married and have a family. Is... is that true?" he asked. Kagome's jaw simply dropped.

"He...said...THAT!"

"Yeah... so it's true, then?" Inuyasha said, disappointed. Kagome shook her head in disgust.

"Ew-ew-ew-ew-ew NO!" she cried. She cringed at the thought. "I mean, he's nice and all, but I could never think about him like that. Kouga on the other hand..." she provoked.

"WHAT! DON'T TELL ME YOU WANNA BE WITH THAT STUPID WOLF! WHY!" Inuyasha snapped. Whaaaat?

"Oh-my-god-you-should-have-seen-the-look-on-your-face! That was PRICELESS!" Kagome laughed. Inuyasha snarled.

"Keh! Well how was I supposed to know it was a joke?"

"I was testing to see how you reacted." she giggled. "Seems the mighty Inuyasha is jealous!" she sneered.

"WHAAAAAAAAT! No way! I'm just concerned, that's all! I'm supposed to protect you! How can I do that with Kouga there? The guy's an idiot! He smells bad, too! He's worse than that Hobo guy! I just don't want you getting hurt." Inuyasha confessed. Kagome smiled.

"Ooooooh, okay. Whatever you say!" she smirked.

"GET OVER YOURSELF! YOU'RE NOT THAT GREAT OF A PERSON! HONESTLY, WHO COULD STAND YOU FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES? YOU GET SO FREAKING ANNOYING!" Inuyasha cried. "Kagome... Kagome i'm sorry... I didn't mean that!" he retreated once he saw her tears.

"It's fine, Inuyasha... i'm just still a little emotional after the whole coma thing. Sorry." she whimpered. Inuyasha's ears were pinned against his head under the cap.

"Kagome..."

"I just need to be alone for a while." she replied. Inuyasha frowned and nodded. He decided to go and visit Kaede and enlighten her with the news. He turned back to Kagome as she left.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered as he shut the door to her room.