Two weeks later…

My feelings for Inuyasha came back little by little as the days went by. Every day, he'd go out for whatever and Kagome, Miroku or Sango would look after me. They started telling me stories about Inuyasha and the fights he's gotten himself into. It took a while, but I finally was able to laugh again.

Inuyasha would come back at nights and watch over me as I slept. I requested that he not be too close, but close enough that I could see his eyes if I ever opened them. That feeling of protection that he gave me was renewed. I had grown to appreciate all that he's done for me. His demon-like nature finally returned and he was just as crabby as he ever was. My heart was coming back together, but I didn't feel the exact same way. I didn't feel that fire burning in me, but I had to say that I'd fight by his side no matter what.

When the day of the full moon finally came, I left the cave long before Inuyasha woke up. I spent my time getting my claws nice and sharp. I had to get rid of my frustrations and quick. I started sprinting through the woods, shooing everything that moved. I then picked up a familiar scent and started laughing. "I know where I want to go."

I followed the scent to the mountains and flipped out to get a good look. All of the wolves looked at me like they were amazed. "Where's your leader?"

"Someone call my name?" Koga came out of the cave. I just faced him with my eyes narrowed. "Well, what has that miserable half-breed done to you now?"

"Shut the hell up!" I charged for him and he jumped before I got to him. "Hey, what's your deal?"

"I need a good fight and I need it now. At this point, I don't care it is. I'm gonna get mad and I'm gonna enjoy it!" I cracked my knuckles and went for him.

"You honestly want me to fight you? You've got to be kidding me." He laughed.

"Just do it, damn it! Come and get me, Koga! Show me what you're made of!" He ran to me and got me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I put a hand on my knee for support as I coughed.

"You all right?" He reached for me and my fist ended up in smashing into his face. I then started giving his face a good clawing as I started to build up the rage within me. "Keep at it, Koga, trash Inuyasha all you want. Get me motivated… don't worry, I'll stop myself from killing you."

"I doubt you could; you're a half-breed being trained by a half-breed. Two half-breeds don't made a pure demon."

"Shut your mouth!" I brought my right hand back and slashed Koga's pelt. I looked at the blood on my hand. "That was like Inuyasha's 'Iron Reverse Soul Stealer' attack… Where'd that come from?"

"So, has the mutt taught you more than using claws to fight?"

"He taught me swordplay, but I'm not very good. His sword is so strange; it just didn't feel right when I wielded it. I was filled with self-doubt; I can only rely on my physical abilities."

"Did the mutt put you up to this?"

"Like I need his permission for anything! He doesn't control me and neither will you! I will live my own life!"

"Have you really become so selfish?"

"Selfish?" I felt my eyes start to glow and I hissed, "That does it! You don't know me, so don't pretend to."

"I know that you've changed considerably. You've turned sour towards everything around you. I gave you a great offer and you're going to throw that away. Do you even care about your tribe? What happens if someone attacks them? Will you be able to defend them?"

I started the flame going and it was burning furiously like never before. "You don't know me, Koga, so shut the hell up!" I got on all fours and charged for him. He kicked me back with his left leg. I slide across the ground. It hit me like lightning. I felt my ribs on the left side and they were broken. I stumbled to my feet and held my left side; I looked at it from under my pelt and was all bruised, black and blue.

The pain started settling in. "My god… I can feel pain… for the first time in a long time, I can feel pain."

"You want I should stop?" Koga walked over. I hissed, "Don't be so smug, wolf! I'm far from out; I need you to knock me back to my senses. You're the only one who can; I trust your judgment and that you'll never change no matter what I do to you."

"What? Has dog-face gotten soft?"

"Don't you dare!" I flexed out my claws and I felt the fire burn. "Flaming Claw Slash!" I slashed Koga's chest again and more blood came out on my hand. I started laughing, enjoying myself. I ran up to him; he jumped up, spun around and kicked my chest. I fell backwards and slid a few yards away. The fire kept burning in my heart, not that I could really call it that. A heart that couldn't love wasn't a heart at all.

I felt my fur stand up all over. I was on all fours, hissing with all of the rage I had burning in me. I sniffed my claws and felt a need to hunt for Koga's blood. For some odd reason, I wanted to get rid of him at any cost. I don't know why I was so mad at him, but I think it was more about proving to myself that I could kick major butt.

He laughed and I hissed, "Stop being so smug ! I'll wipe that smile right off your face with my claws." I shrieked, clawing his face again. "All right, if that's the way you want it…" He took a giant leap back and ran for me, giving me a swift uppercut, banging my fangs into my upper lip. I landed on my back again, but this time I had a hard time getting up. I wiped my bleeding mouth and started breathing heavy. I struggled to my feet and started walking to Koga.

"Haven't you had enough?"

There was fire in my eyes, "Don't… ask if I've had… enough…" I was ready to break his face with my right hand when someone grabbed it.

I looked behind me and saw Inuyasha with a stern face. "Is wolf boy giving you any trouble?"

"I came here on my free will, Inuyasha, what do you care?"

"You're getting yourself killed! If you need to get out some frustration, you can use me. I know that's where you really want to aim it!"

I faced him and hissed. "That does it!" I charged at him and we both fell off the mountain, rolling down all of the rocks. When we finally landed, we broke apart. I landed hand on my back, unable to move. I breathed heavily, but it was difficult. I put a hand to my sore ribs that hurt as I breathed.

"You're pathetic!" Inuyasha marched up to me, not a scratch on him. "Why you," I tried to get up, but my ribs were holding me back. I inched up, groaning, "Damn…"

"Will you stop moving before you get yourself killed? Is that what you want! Do you want to let everyone in your tribe down!" He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground. "Snap out of it!"

I shrieked and tried scratching him, but nothing happened. I looked at my claws and they were receding. "What's going on?" I looked up and sun was setting. "Have I really been up there that long?" I stuttered a bit as he brought me back down.

I looked at the look on his face, those piercing eyes. I felt like they cut through me like a knife. I realized what I was doing was wrong. I was trying to destroy myself in an attempt to piece my heart back together. His eyebrows lifted as he looked confused. I started shaking and I felt everything slowly come together. As I became human, I walked to Inuyasha and started crying. I put my arms around his chest, "Inuyasha…" He stroked my back a little.

"I needed this… I'm back to normal. My heart is back and I'm able to feel again."

"So that's what you were doing! You were picking a fight with that wimpy wolf just so you could start 'feeling'!"

"Everyone needs a good fight every now and then." I backed off, "Don't you agree?"

"Well yeah…" He blinked twice. "C'mon, I'll take you back."

"No, I think I can make it back myself… but only if you take the lead." He took off like a shot and I ran after him. I could only keep at it for 5 minutes due to two things—my injuries and the fact I was human. Inuyasha came back for me and laughed, "I guess you forgot you were human, huh?"

"You don't have to push it…" He kneeled down and I got on his back. "All right, let's go back."

"Hang on tight!" I held tight around his waist, even though I felt like I was ready to faint. I felt so dizzy as we sprinted through the woods back to the cave. When I got off his back, I felt unsteady on my feet. I looked up at him as I fell to my knees. "You okay?"

I held my side, "Just a bruise… nothing to be concerned about…" I hissed in pain.

"Don't move!" He slightly lifted my pelt to see where I was holding my side. "Move your arm." He pressed his hand lightly to my ribs. "You're human now, so you shouldn't move. This could get worse." He sighed, "The best thing for you to do is stay up and shut up."

"You can't make me shut up." I groaned and he set me down on the cave floor. I cringed, my eyes shut when I felt claws stroke my hair. I grabbed his hand, "What are you…" I saw concern written all over his face. "Don't touch me…"

"Why not? Aren't I allowed to be a bit concerned!" I saw his face; he was right. "Concern isn't a sign of weakness, you know."

"No, you're right…" I shrugged, "It's been so long since I've seen the rough side of you, I guess I don't remember exactly what you were like."

"Well, we'll be here all night." I looked out and saw a major downpour with thunder and lightning. I narrowed my eyes, "Nothing like a good thunderstorm to scare me back into shape." It was getting really violent and the thunder got louder each time. Each flash felt it was zapping my heart back to normal. As it settled down a bit, I finally curled up into a ball. I cried, "I should never have left home… ever since I left, things have gotten so complicated."

"What on earth are you babbling about? You wouldn't have gotten this strong if you hadn't bumped into me!"

"I'm holding you back… I've made you… soft."

"Shut up! Quit whining!" I groaned, "I had to see you once more, but now that I've been by your side for… a month or two, I feel like I've only wasted your time." I shut my eyes, "My heart's broken and pieced itself together so many times… I barely recognize myself."

"I can still see a little bit of the princess we met two months ago." Kagome came in, kneeling next to me. "How are you?"

"I could be better…" Inuyasha put a hand to my ribs and I hissed in pain. "If you're going to heal, you need to relax yourself." He put a hand behind my neck to settle me down a bit.

"Why are you being so nice to me? After everything you've seen me do, don't you think you have an insult you can throw at me?"

"Oh, I have a few! You're whiny, you're weak, you're pathetic and most of all, you keep changing your stripes! You're the lamest half-demon I've ever seen!"

"You don't mean all that…"

"Well, I do think that you should shut up and let me talk. You're underestimate yourself constantly and I find that very annoying! And you're getting yourself into all kinds of trouble!"

"So do you!" He stopped. "You think that I can't take care of myself!"

"When you fight, you get really irrational. You're picking on fights bigger than yourself. That is no way to get stronger. You keep picking those fights and you'll get discouraged. You need to work your way up."

I looked down. "I don't want to pry… but you're really concerned about me, Inuyasha." I looked at Kagome, pointing, "I'm sure he doesn't want to admit it, but the only reason he's holding himself back is because he doesn't want me to get hurt. Boy… things have changed…"

"That's ridiculous." He brushed it off. Something didn't seem right about him. Sure, the attitude was there, but not the same volume of attitude. I sat up. "I told you to lay down, don't hurt yourself any worse." Inuyasha pushed me back.

"I need to see something, Inuyasha… let me…" I lifted myself off the ground just enough that my ear landed on Inuyasha's heart. That's when everything clicked, everything pieced together and I felt like myself again. I slowly shut my eyes and whispered, "Don't embrace me, just let me listen." I put my other hand to his chest and felt the warmness return. I felt myself going back through memory lane. I was back in the Forest of Inuyasha, standing on a tree root to listen to his heart. I heard my own wish, "My wish is for you to live, Inuyasha, so I can properly thank you for all you've done for me."

I looked up and saw myself back there. Inuyasha hang on the tree, lifeless, with his hair blowing in the wind. I made a new wish, "I wish that everything was back to normal and our hearts will be as they were before. I want nothing else more than to feel normal again and for Inuyasha to be as he was before I met him face to face." I shouted, "I wish everything was back to normal!"

I was back where we were, but this time, I felt a warmness in my heart. It was healing everything ailing me. My ribs were no longer broken. Then it shone between Inuyasha's heart and mine. Our souls reconnected, but I felt like everything was getting back to where it belonged. The energy was so unique that I was the only one who could see it, but I'm sure that Inuyasha could feel it too. Slowly, he fell over on his back with me on top of his chest. I lifted my head to get in a comfortable position. I whispered, "Good night, Inuyasha…" and I started purring as I drifted off to sleep.

"Great… now she's on top of me again…" Inuyasha groaned, "I always gotta be the nice guy."

"Sounds like you're back to normal." Kagome laughed. "Being human isn't quite so bad, is it?"

"Humph, yeah right. Being human makes us weak."

"Apparently, she would have made a better human than demon, though. Maybe she's right and should return to her tribe. We've kept her from them for an awfully long time."

"Her best friend was disguised as Naraku, who says its safe to go back?"

"We don't know that until we get there. Maybe we can have Miroku and Sango scout it out first."

"Good idea…" He nodded, "That settles it. We'll go back tomorrow. Now that the princess might be getting back to normal, it might be better before she gets too attached." He folded his arms, "It's hard to believe, but for a while, I think I might have gotten attached. It was helping to fill that void where Kikyo was, but once I got past there…" He blushed, "I think I was actually… blinded, for a while…" He shifted his eyes to look at Kagome, "it's really weird saying this, but in the end, I really did want to protect her."

"Aww, that's so sweet."

"Don't go spreading that around! That's the last thing I need!"

"Inuyasha…" she pointed down. He looked down, "Oh right, I forgot." He sighed, "All right, might as well get some sleep. Tomorrow's not going to be easy for good-bye."

"You're going to just stop like that?"

"It's for the best, Kagome… I don't want to cause too much trouble for her and I don't want her to get hurt or change who she is. Cuz believe it or not, I like her the way she is. Even if she isn't strong, at least she knows she wants to help others. That's good enough for me." He stroked my bangs. "Sleep well, princess."