He was walking away when I got outside. I ran over to him, "Hey Inuyasha!"

He didn't turn around. I rushed to his side, "Hey." I smiled, but he was looking at me in a way that said 'leave me alone.' He looked away. I blinked, "What's the matter?"

"It's nothin'." Then he shouted, "Shouldn't you be resting! I mean, you almost died!" I gasped, "Yeah, well…"

"Humph… get going with the apologies and such! I've already wasted enough time…" I grabbed his sleeve and I heard him gasp. "What are you…"

"Don't go off pretending like nothing happened." I solemnly remarked.

"It's you that's pretending! Pretending to be fine when I know you're not!"

"Look at me, damn it!" He looked over and his expression flashed from angry to slightly confused. There was a pause. I looked up to reveal the tears in my eyes. I immediately started sobbing and rushed into his arms. "Inuyasha!" I cried, holding onto his coat, "I'm so sorry! I break my promise; I never meant to attack you and try to kill you!"

"I forgive you…" He looked away, seeming distracted. I sniffled, "Why didn't you just leave me? You could have left me for dead; after what I tried to do, I didn't deserve that."

"I just don't think life should be taken like that, that's all. Besides… I kinda got used to having you around, so I wasn't going to let you too soon."

"Huh?" I looked up, "What on earth are you babbling about?"

"Since you scrubbed last night, I need to set up your final test… but it's going to take a long time for me to become human again. I'll release you once that night has passed. Whether you pass or fail, I'm… proud of the progress you've made."

"You're proud… that's all you can think to say…" I sighed, "what am I going to do with you?"

"Nothin', except follow orders, maybe…" He held me close, "Just don't go running off on me like that or getting yourself into trouble like last night… I'd hate to see you go through that again."

"Why can't you just admit that you were scared? It'd make me feel a little better."

"I… I can't…" I looked up. His bright yellow eyes were struggling with this. He whispered, shutting them. "I can't because… I was more than scared… so much about last night… reminded me of myself. The thirst for blood, the killing… all of it…" He looked away, "It's been so long since my last transformation… I nearly forgot what it was like." He loosened his embrace when I felt an urge to look at my hands.

I screamed in shock of what I saw—Inuyasha's blood all over my hands. "My god…" I rushed to the nearby river to wash off the blood. I started freaking out when his scent still lingered, even after getting the stains off my hands. I walked out of the water and shook them furiously. I sat on a rock. Inuyasha sat next to me, "That's exactly what I did… when my hands kept smelling of the bandits' blood…" I sighed in thought, "While you have a fiery spirit about you, I've gotten used to your kinder side. Seeing you discard that to embrace your inner rage… I don't want to see you go through that again…" He gulped, "It was terrifying."

"Well, what about me! I'm the one who almost committed a murder! I'm petrified over what happened…" I shouted, "Could you just explain to me why you didn't just leave me behind! Can you possibly forgive me for what I almost did!"

"Well, I don't know to explain it myself… I guess it's those stupid human emotions. They always get the better of me around that time…"

I let out a giggle, "Inuyasha, I'm sure there's more to it than that."

"Well, I can't exactly explain what else it could be!"

"Fine, be that way…" I stood up and started walking away.

"Where do you think you're going!"

"Look… if you're not going to be open with me, then there's no point in talking to you about last night."

"Hey! Do you expect me to tell you everything going on in my head!"

"No!" I turned around, "I don't expect you to tell me every little thing… but it'd be make me feel a hell of a lot better if I knew why you want to keep me around."

"You want to know why?" I shot him a look, narrowing my eyes. I started walking away. "Wait, I'm not through with you yet!" I stopped so he could catch up. "I took up training you so there'd be another strong half-demon out there!"

I shrugged, "Sounds reasonable enough. Can't say I've met any other half-demons…" I looked him in the eye, "You know, just a few days ago, I was talking to Koga. He proposed for my tribe to move in with his."

"Are you out of your mind!"

"Maybe… I mean, he seemed so nice, and he could help protect us and everything."

"Oh, so I guess he has you all wrapped around his finger now, is that it?" He teased.

"No!" I stepped back. "I was this close… this close to thinking that we can be involved that way." I rubbed my arms. "What'd he do to you?" He tried to reach a hand over, but I shooed it away. "Nothing! His heart did all the talking for me." I shuddered and started walking away; Inuyasha kept following.

"I don't know what I was thinking… I figured that if anything would tell me what was right or wrong, his heart would." I continued rubbing my arms, "I don't know how I developed this thing for listening to hearts, but hearts never lie. While it beat strong, it was maybe… too strong. It was like… it had a powerful beat to it… but there was something comforting about it."

"So, that's when…"

"Yeah, I fell to pieces for no reason at all." I sighed, "I'm just saying it might not be wise to keep me around. Now that I've grown dependent on you, even if I complete my training… I might not want to leave. I don't want to depend on you my whole life."

"Well, I can train you to be as strong as I am, so you won't have to." He put a hand on my shoulder and I knew it was his way of comforting me. "Now that I've rejoined you… I'm not so sure about Koga's offer anymore. It sounded good at the time, only because I didn't think I'd see you again for a while. Sure, I wouldn't mind having Koga protect me and everything, but… I don't think I could ever give my heart to him… or any other demon for that matter."

He was silent. "I'll just leave it at that, I guess…" The hand on my shoulder was surprisingly all the comfort I needed. To get rid of the awkwardness of what I just said, I said, "Just so you know, I appreciate all that you've done for me… can't say I deserve it, but I appreciate it."

"Yeah, whatever." I laughed, "Are you always so mellow when someone gives you thanks?" He was silent. I kept my composure, "Fine… be that way. See if I care."

"Do you have always have to be so difficult?"

"I get it from you… you answer that question." We continued walking, but I felt the need to feel the bandage on my stomach. "Fine, hop on my back, I'll take you back." Inuyasha knelt down. I grabbed around his waist and hung on tight as he sprinted back to the cabin. I laughed on the inside simply cuz I tricked him into bringing me back.