After the awkward silence, I decided to take a little stroll on my own to think. To be honest, I wanted to just go about my business again and move away from my weak side. I wanted to put everything behind me. I heard footsteps behind me and it was Kagome. I narrowed my eyes, "Why are you following me?"

"Oh, no reason. You just seemed really… I mean, quiet that's all. How's your leg?" I looked it and patted the splint, "It doesn't hurt anymore…" I looked at my arms, "I forgot that I was also burned. A lot about yesterday seemed to be a blur…" I held onto the jewel shard in my heart. "I just want to move on with my life and put those days of seeming weak behind me. While I was alone, I felt like I needed courage to keep going with my life. As strange it sounds, whenever I stopped by the Sacred Tree to listen to Inuyasha's heart, I felt so calm and confident about everything."

"So, that's what happened last night?" I nodded, "The moment I heard Inuyasha was alive, I really wanted to see him once more. I left early so I wouldn't detain him any more than I had to. He doesn't have time for helping helpless half-demons like me…"

"To be honest, I think Inuyasha went after you because he didn't want you to leave without saying good-bye." I turned my back, "I'm surprised he cared that much. He put on such an act last night and compared the way he treated me earlier that day, it just doesn't feel the same. This sounds ridiculous, but all of those years, I pictured him to be a lot different. He came off to be kind of a jerk."

Kagome smiled, "Well, you just need to get to know him. Trust me, we didn't hit it off when we first started traveling together. Somehow along the way, we molded into friends… or maybe more than friends, I really don't know. He's not really a bad guy, he just likes to put a tough guy act on for show; it's all part of the image."

"Well, I'm sick of being weak. The only way to put the past behind me is to move on with my life and that includes parting from Inuyasha. I know I can't always depend on him all the time. Besides, this tribe is going to count on me as their princess. I can't let them down like my last one. I need to get stronger and the way to do that is forget about the past."

"Have I really had that much of an effect on you!" A taunting voice called from the other direction. Inuyasha approached us with his arms crossed. "I accused you of being weak and suddenly, a half-demon who doesn't care about strength wants to get stronger."

"Inuyasha! Don't joke about something like this!" Kagome shouted. I said, "You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? I left early before you got up just so I could be out of your life. I can't prolong my stay with you just because I need more confidence. That's something I have to earn myself."

"What's got you so wrapped up in a knot?" He wondered curiously. I groaned, "Just forget it… I'm going!" I marched past him when he grabbed my arm. "Let go of me!"

"No, you're not going to leave like this!"

"Like what? Angry at you? Without that jewel shard, yeah right!"

"Would you stop thinking that I'm thinking about the jewel shard!"

"Well, that's what you want, isn't it!"

"It's not like that…" Somehow, my shouting started to come off as balling. "You know, Inuyasha! Just leave me alone, all right! Before you start getting any ideas, I was going to give this shard over to you when I become strong enough to be without it! Right now, I need it just so I don't need you to shield myself from my past. Because of the way you flip-flopped last night, I might have changed my mind about that!" I grabbed the hand that was holding mine, dug my claws in and shoved it off.

"Inuyasha, sit boy!" Inuyasha suddenly fell to the ground, giving me the time to get away. He called, "Wait, come back!" I didn't know what came over me. I ran back to my cave and started balling my eyes out. I was furious with Inuyasha because he acted like he didn't care about me one minute and that he did the next. He wasn't at all how I imagined and I just wanted to forget.

"Hey, what'd you do that for!" Inuyasha called from the ground as he tried getting up. "Sit!" Kagome shouted as he fell back down again. "You know, you can be a real jerk sometimes."

"I wasn't going to ask about the stupid jewel shard, in fact, I don't even care anymore! She can keep it!" He got up and turned his back. "That little… I was just coming to explain myself and she goes off on me."

"Oh? Explain what, Inuyasha?" She asked with her arms crossed. He turned to the side, seeming to be in a daze. "It was probably the jewel shard, but somehow, I felt calm and relaxed last night as I slept. I didn't mind so much that I was sheltering someone I barely knew. I've never felt like that ever before, it was really weird…"

"Don't tell me you're starting to like her!"

"It's not like that! I… I'm just… I'm feeling guilty, all right! I liked that calmness and I wanted to know how it happened."

She sighed, "If it really means that much to you, I'll go talk to her." Kagome followed my tracks to the cave, "Hi, might if I talk to you for a bit?"

"Sure, but I'm not coming out!" I shouted from the darkness. I sighed, suddenly as my rage slowly evaporated. "I slept well last night because I felt like I was being protected. Because of how weak I am, I couldn't ask Inuyasha to waste his time."

"Actually, I think he's a bit confused himself about what happened last night. You gave him some level of calmness too and because he hadn't felt it before, it leaves him unsettled. Whatever you did to him, it might have shaken him up a bit and he just wants answers. He doesn't like to be left with questions because that just distracts him."

"I'm the kind of demon that puts others before herself, so I wouldn't want to slow him down by making him stay here any more than necessary. Besides, I could just be a lost cause."

"Don't say that! You don't know for sure!"

"Kagome, you and Inuyasha have some thing for each other, don't you?" She just nodded in agreement. "I thought so, I sensed the bond between you two. I wouldn't want to get in the way of that…"

"Kagome, mind if I take over?" My ears perked, "Fine Inuyasha, do what you must."

"Mind if we have a little privacy, Kagome?"

"Sure." I heard her footsteps leave. He sighed as I heard him sit by the entrance. "Last night was weird, but the feeling was familiar. Before Kikyo sealed me to the tree, we were… pretty close. Then somewhere along the line, she betrayed me. I didn't know what to think for a while, but I guess I might have felt a little distracted while I was sealed. Every night, I felt this sense of calmness that made me forget all about how I troubled I was over what happened with Kikyo. That's probably what was so weird about last night because it was a long time since I felt that. Humph, maybe it wasn't the jewel shard after all."

I crept out of the cave and looked at him. I looked down, "So, what happened between you two?"

"Well, Naraku had set us up against each other, so we're after him. I want to avenge Kikyo's death and if I had to give my own life to do that, then so be it."

"So, you're hung up on her even when you always have Kagome right beside you? What's going on with that?"

"Well, it doesn't really matter anymore. Although I can't forget about her, Kikyo's gone and that's all there is. Plus, Naraku's collecting the shards as well and it can mean doom for us all if he gets all the pieces."

"So, that's it?"

"What do you mean that's it! I just gave you a huge piece of information about myself and my purpose for collecting the shards!"

"If you're gonna be that way, I'll just go." I was ready to slip back into the darkness when he grabbed me. "Hold on a minute…"

I looked into his eyes and he looked like he was pleading. I blinked, "What's wrong?"

"Look…" he looked away, "would you like to travel with me for a while? That way, you can get stronger by learning from the master… and you also get to learn about the person who got you through the loneliest years of your life. Hell, when I was your age, I had no one to deal with the loneliness I thought I didn't have." He pulled me out of the cave and back on his chest.

I listened to my heart and shut my eyes, feeling the calmness return. He embraced me, "don't think of this as pity, but think of it as an opportunity. I'm not someone to extend this kind of invite…" I put my other hand on his chest. His heart didn't lie; he wanted me to come with him. I laughed, "All right, Inuyasha, you talked me into it."

He pulled me off the ground and turned me to face him. The look in his eyes was unlike any I've seen; it was calm, but determined. I blinked, "There's something… different about you."

He shut his eyes, "Yeah whatever." He stepped back and drew his sword. I gasped, almost thinking he was going to use it on me. I then looked again; it was a pathetic looking sword. "This is the ultimate proof behind the phrase 'looks can be deceiving.' Quite an interesting story is behind how I came to be in possession of the Tetsusaiga."

Kagome joined us and when she saw the sword was out, she looked nervous. "Inuyasha, what are you doing!"

"Cool it, Kagome! It's not what you think!" He stuck it into the ground. He folded his arms, "the one useful thing Sesshomaru ever did was show me where this sword is."

"Sesshomaru? What's he got to do with this?"

"Humph, he was seeking the sword and using some tricks, he made me reveal where my father's tomb was. The sword lay inside and was left by him to us. However, it was stuck in a stone just like this and neither of us were able to pull it out. Of course, heh, Sesshomaru was pure demon, so it burned his hand when he tried to draw the sword. Although it babbles me, even now, the truth is that Kagome was the only one to pull out the sword."

"Well, it was quite by accident…" She shut her eyes, laughing nervously.

"Still, even with the sword in my hands, it was so wimpy that it couldn't even cut wet paper. Somehow, while fighting Sesshomaru in his full demon form, I was able to awaken the power within it." He grabbed the sword and swung it. I immediately stood back and it transformed into what looked like a fang.

"This is what Tetsusaiga really looks like. It was fashioned out of my father's fang and later handed down to me, for some reason."

"There's more to it than that." Kagome pointed out. "Another reason why Sesshomaru couldn't wield Tetsusaiga is because he hates humans. Inuyasha couldn't get it to work for him until he accidentally said that he'd protect me…"

"Humph, I still don't get why I said that. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly through all the excitement."

"So, in other words, it can only be used to protect humans." I sighed, shrugging. Inuyasha stuck into the ground and folded his arms. "Try to hold the Tetsusaiga."

"What? Are you crazy? That thing must weigh a ton…"

"Look, take the sword!" I grabbed onto the sword while looking at Kagome. I pulled it out of the ground, but I was really unsteady under its weight. Inuyasha quickly grabbed the other end and grabbed the end I was holding onto. "Give it to me." He then put it back in the sheath. I fell backwards, "man, I thought you were strong, but that's… that…"

"Exactly…" He sighed, "looks like we've got a long way to go."

Kagome wondered, "Inuyasha, what are you talking about?"

"I've invited the princess to travel with us for a while, you know, train her up a bit. That was the first test to see where she stands."

"Inuyasha, I don't get it…" My arms still felt weak from the weight of the sword.

"Look… that'll be a measure of your strength through the time I'm gonna train you. If you wanna be strong like me then you'll have to learn how to wield a weapon like the Tetsusaiga. It's gonna be hard work, so are you up for it!"

"It's not like I have a choice." Kagome helped me off the ground.

"That's right, you don't! Becoming strong isn't all fun and games and you'll have to work harder than you have in your whole life."

Kagome looked dumbfounded, "So, you actually want to devote your time to something like that?"

"Humph, well, now that Naraku's gone into hiding again, I've got nothing better to do while we're looking for the jewel shards. Just don't think I'm gonna ease up at any point!" He turned his back and walked away.