Chapter 21

"What!" Inuyasha cried. "Neko youkai? Where!"

"In the village! They want the jewel!" the young villager cried, his cuts and bruises were plainly visible down his arms and legs. Kagome winced noticably at the sight. Inuyasha pulled her close to him, trying to calm her nerves.

"Kagome, I don't know... i'm only human... and neko youkai are fast. I have trouble enough killing them as a hanyou." he explained worridly. He wasn't expecting a smile to grace her features. He gently cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"Come on, Inuyasha! We'll be fine! I have my bow and arrow that Kaede gave me, Sango has Hiraikotsu, and Miroku has his sutras and his staff. You have your brute strength! Together we can win this!" Kagome cheered. Inuyasha nodded.

"Alright, let's give it a shot- but Kagome." he said as he loosened his grip on her. "Be careful. I can't lose you." he whimpered. Kagome smiled delicately.

"It'll be alright, Inuyasha- i'll be careful." she reassured the nervous hanyou. "Now let's go!"

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"Where is the jewel, miko?" the leader of the Neko youkai hissed. "I'll be relieving you of it."

"I don't think so, hairball!" Inuyasha yelled as he stepped in front of Kagome. "No one lays a hand on her." he growled. The leader laughed.

"No one tells Kiba what to touch or what not to touch." Kiba growled. (A/N: apparently Kiba means 'fang'. Hence why I called him Kiba. If it doesn't mean fang... keh. I'm keeping it. I like it. Heehee)

"Keh! Get over yourself!" Inuyasha taunted. "You ain't that tough." he continued. Kiba snarled and cracked his knuckles.

"We'll see about that, human." he laughed. Not giving Inuyasha enough time to even blink, Kiba thrusted himself at Inuyasha and began to slash at Inuyasha's face with his claws. Inuyasha barely dodged the initial attack, and managed to regain enough composure to begin taking counter swings at Kiba. Kagome and the others were currently busy with Kiba's pack.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she saw Kiba violently attack Inuyasha. She finished off the neko youkai she had been fighting with an arrow, and ran over to Inuyasha. "Here, kitty kitty!" she taunted. "Look at the pretty arrow!" When Kiba was distracted by Kagome's taunting, she released her arrow, only to find Kiba dodge it. He's too fast! Kagome winced. She drew another arrow from the quiver on her back and set it up to fire. Inuyasha threw himself at Kiba to try and pin him down so Kagome could hit him. Instead, however, he fell face first into the dirt. Kiba laughed as he swiped a claw along Inuyasha's back, drawing blood. "Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she dropped her bow and arrow and ran to Inuyasha.

"I'm fine, Kagome! Doesn't even hurt." Inuyasha smiled. "I may be human, but i'm still tougher than the average human."

"I know." she smirked as she stood back up, aiming her arrow for Kiba. "No one hurts my Inuyasha! EVER!" she cried as she fired her arrow. Inuyasha looked up at Kagome with pride and shock in his eyes. She called me hers. I'm hers. She's mine. That won't ever change. I can't let this idiot beat me. I have to protect Kagome.

"Aaagh!" Kiba yelped as the arrow grazed the calf of his left leg. "How DARE you!" he growled. "You will pay for this, miko. You will pay with your life."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Inuyasha said defiantly as he stood up in front of Kiba. "No one will harm my Kagome!" he roared as his fist connected with Kiba's cheekbone. Inuyasha could feel the bone shatter underneath his fist, and he smirked. "That's what you get for trying to hurt Kagome!" he cried proudly. Kiba fell backwards and cried out in pain. The entire right side of his face was now bruised and bleeding; his cheekbone was shattered. Kiba shook it off and lept forwards at Inuyasha in another attempt to strike him down. Inuyasha lept to the side, dodging Kiba's attack. The neko youkai crashed into the ground in front of him. Kiba rolled over and was about to get up when he came face to face with Inuyasha's fist again. This time, the strike rendered Kiba unconscious. Inuyasha smirked as he snapped the unconscious neko's neck. "That's taken care of."

"Now to help the others with the rest of the pack!" Kagome cried. Inuyasha nodded, and the two ran over to where the others had stationed themselves.

"Kagome! Inuyasha! How are the two of you fairing with the neko leader?" Miroku asked as his staff clashed with the claws of the lesser neko youkai.

"He's been disposed of." Inuyasha said matter-of-factly. The group breathed a sigh of relief.

"You will pay for killing our leader!" the lesser neko's hissed.

"See if we care." Inuyasha snarled.

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After about another hour, the neko youkai's had been completely disposed of. Their bodies had been discarded in the bone-eater's well, the injured villagers taken care of by Kaede and Kagome, and the single deceased villager had been buried. With the entire village helping out, the time passed quickly. Inuyasha sat with his back relaxed against the Goshinboku, watching the sun rise. Today we start building huts. I can't wait to build the home that Kagome and I will live in. The home where we'll raise a family. Inuyasha smiled and closed his eyes. His fangs grew back; his hair shone silver once again, and his dog ears poked back out from atop his head. He held his hand up to his face. I was able to protect her, even though I was human. Heh. I don't hate being human that much after all, now. Kagome showed me that humans aren't weak. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of contentment. Kagome walked over to Inuyasha quietly. Inuyasha's eye cracked open just enough to see Kagome.

"Inuyasha." she smiled.

"Kagome." he breathed. Kagome walked over to him and sat down next to him, her head resting on his shoulder. Inuyasha smiled as he put his arm around her small frame and pulled her closer to him.

"How's your wound?" Kagome asked.

"Keh! It's fine. Shouldn't leave a scar. Wasn't deep, anyways." Inuyasha commented. Kagome nodded.

"That's a relief."

"Don't worry about me so much. I'm made of tougher stuff than that." he smirked. Kagome giggled.

"I know. Still... I don't know what i'd do without you." she confessed.

"Keh! I'll protect you, and i'll protect myself. We'll be fine." he said.

"I'll protect you too, Inuyasha!" Kagome cried as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I'll do my best to protect you too." she whispered. Inuyasha smiled.

"Deal." he said. Kagome looked up at him sweetly.

"I guess we should get some rest before we begin building the huts." Kagome mentioned. Inuyasha pulled her onto his lap, and the two fell into a deep slumber that they both deserved.

(A/N: Still not the end. There is still one more dramatic twisty thing(a good one, don't worry!) in this story. Hurrah!)