I stopped laughing, "Do you think maybe we were a little too hard on him?"
"No… he deserved that. I mean, serves him right, trying to put on that tough act. We all know that he was bordering on scared to death." I stopped to think, "Really? He was that scared?"
"I mean, you shoulda seen his face. He's fired up now more than ever to face Naraku and kill him… all because of you."
"Yeah… it's weird." I thought on, "Naraku said that I had this mysterious link with Inuyasha. He said that Inuyasha was ready to give up when he was sealed to that tree, that he lost the will to live, and that I was the one thing keeping his heart going. Like… my dedication allowed his heart to keep beating…"
"Yeah, that is weird…"
"I don't believe that for a second. I mean, it's Naraku, he's all about lies. Sure, I'd like to believe that I have that sort of link with Inuyasha… but it's just one of things that go way over my head. It's just so ridiculous. I told him that you're the one that ended up awakening him…"
"Well, I don't pretend to take all of the credit. It was the fact that I was holding the Sacred Jewel and I asked for someone to help me when I was being chased by Mistress Centipede."
"Maybe… it was both of us…" Kagome shrugged. "Who knows?"
"We just gotta be thankful that Inuyasha's alive and well. I know I am…" I sighed in relief.
"I must say that I'm glad you're all right, princess." Miroku said. I then reached behind me and grabbed his hand. I narrowed my eyes and smiled, "Don't make me snap your wrist too." He took it back and I just laughed. "I'm only kidding, Miroku." Just then Sango smacked him across the face. I looked out the window and saw Inuyasha hanging out in the tree.
"Do you think I should make sure he's okay?"
"No, let him cool off for a while. You know how he gets sometimes."
"There's something else too…" Kagome turned to face me. "My friend, Raye, she was really Naraku in disguise this whole time. Like an idiot, I took her as my best friend. I think she came to the tribe a few days after I settled down and I accepted her into it."
"I'm really sorry." I nodded, "Well, the rest of the tribe is counting on me to come through. Still… I really need to do something about that demonic nature of mine… it's really dangerous."
"You'll figure it out…" Kagome patted my shoulder.
"I've had a lot of time to think lately… all about Inuyasha and everything. I don't know why I went off on him like I did… I guess I was hurt that he wasn't thinking of me as a friend. Of course, things can change…" My smile disappeared. "In a matter of days, I went from hate mode to lonely mode."
"Yeah, Inuyasha heard quite a few of your outbursts… but he heard you a few days later. I think he was a little confused by it."
I smiled, "Yeah, well… Koga paid me a visit… or actually, he was going after Raye, Naraku's most recent cover. He was after the jewel shards in his legs. I handed my jewel shard to Koga so I could let my demon nature take over. I tried to attack him, but he stopped me by pasting a hand to my stomach. That's when he inserted those tainted jewel shards. Koga couldn't even touch him because he put a barrier up. Instead of sticking around, he just floated away like we weren't a threat." I sat down, "So, Koga hung out with me for a couple of days and we got to talking. Looks like when I'm done with my training, I'm going to move my tribe in with his."
"Really? But that's like cats and dogs living together…"
"That's what I said, but he seemed to think it was a good idea. Something might have happened between us… I really don't know." I shrugged, "Then I was leaning towards him and my ear ended up by his heart. That's when I started to get a little worried. I was listening for some beat of reassurance, but Koga's heart just wasn't the same as Inuyasha's. Either Koga's is too strong or Inuyasha's has a more human beat to his. I fell to pieces… and I couldn't explain what happened." I hugged my knees, "I guess Inuyasha's just one of those guys where once you meet him, you can't forget him."
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." She sat down next to me and started rubbing my shoulders. "I was about to sort everything out, how I felt about Inuyasha when Naraku showed up. Now, I don't know what to think. All I know is that I can't depend on him forever and I'd just get in the way."
"You don't know that." She kept massaging my shoulders, "you know, Inuyasha's softened a lot more lately. It's almost like he's not himself… especially towards me. Still, a lot probably has to do with what happened recently."
"What did happen recently?"
"Well, Kikyo died and Inuyasha was searching for her body. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and I were kidnapped by Kagura, an incarnation of Naraku. Then Kagura, she had this infant, and when I held him, things got really weird. He was reaching into my soul, but I couldn't stop him. He was reaching into me, feeding off my anger for Kikyo and Inuyasha for leaving me behind. Inuyasha came back for me, but I think the whole thing spooked him. That's when he vowed he'd never leave me alone again."
"Wow… that's the kind of thing I wanted to stay away from. I never wanted to cause trouble between you two."
"That's the weird part. You didn't cause any trouble between us; you helped bring us closer together. I'm grateful for that."
"Well… no problem, I guess." I stood up and continued to look out the window at Inuyasha. I sighed dreamily. "You're really lucky to have Inuyasha, Kagome… sometimes, I wish I could take your place. But I know that I can't… it's not meant to be. I know and I've accepted that… I can only wonder where my heart will lead me next."
"Inuyasha said that thanks to the removal of those tainted jewel shards, you're half-demon now. I'm sure you'll find some other half-demon or human that'll be just right for you."
I twitched, "Not human…" I let that bit of anger pass through me with a sigh. "Half-demons are hard to come by, not to mention those who are as strong as Inuyasha are even rarer." I looked outside again and saw that Inuyasha had jumped out of the tree and was heading back in our direction.
That's when Kaede came into our cabin. "Oh, I see you've awoken, child."
"Lady Kaede." I gasped, taking her hand. "It's been a while since we last met."
"Ai, and how are ye fairing?"
"Right now, I feel pretty good." I put a hand on my bandage, "Thanks for the herbs. They saved my life."
"Ai, but Inuyasha was the one who brought ye here."
"I know." I nodded when I saw Inuyasha peek in. I blinked, "I'll be right back, Lady Kaede."
"Hold on, don't ye need to rest a bit more to recover from your injuries?"
"There's something I need to take care of." When I drew my attention back to the flap, Inuyasha had already 'turned tail' and left.
