Disclaimer- Too tired to fight, I don't own him...

Chapter 27- You're Leaving?

It seemed that everyone was still affected by the night before, because the last day at the mountain was anything but fun. None of the group went out on the mountain, and didn't bother to leave their rooms as they got prepared to leave.

The trip had been cut short when one of the counselors had tried to ski, and ended up twisting their ankle. The other counselor for that group was back at the camp, never really liking the cold. So in order to keep the group from getting into trouble, the other camp counselors decided to cute the trip and leave Wednesday instead.

When Sesshoumaru and Rin had explained the situation to the group, nobody seemed to be bothered from the news. In fact, Sango seemed happy at the fact that they would be escaping the winter wonderland. But the teens gave off less than the truth when the two counselors asked, saying they were tired of the cold. In a way, that was true.

Sango was just sick of the area in general. What she had thought would be a relaxing vacation from the drama at camp. Sadly, it was even harder to be in the snowy space than back in the warmth of the camp. She had the odd feeling that the others in the group were finally feeling the frost of the mountain.

"Sesshoumaru, did you notice something odd about them? Kagome and the others I mean." Rin smiled slightly as she felt Sesshoumaru sigh, her head rising with his shoulder. His grip around her waist only tightened as he stole a glance backwards, taking in the sight.

"Like what?"

"Well let's see. Kagome and Sango are sitting together, three seats behind Inuyasha and Miroku. Kouga is sitting in the seat to the left of the girls, and Kikyo is right behind him. Anything seem a little...spaced out about that?"

"Inuyasha and Kagome aren't sitting together?" Sesshoumaru moved her head away from his shoulder as he glanced back, ignoring Rin's slight whine.

"Hey!" Rin tried not to smile as she kept her gaze on the campers as well. Just staring at the group sent a wave of depression rolling across her. "Do you know if anything happened between them?"

"Rin stop butting in." Sesshoumaru replied. Rin didn't seem satisfied as she turned around again, resuming her position.

"But I'm worried about them. I know those two; they can hardly keep an argument going for two minutes. If that was the problem, they'd still be sitting with each other, or at least near each other."

"Even if something was going on, we have no right to but into their problems. Unless one of them comes to us and says that there was a physical attack, then we aren't allowed to do anything."

"We can talk to them; try to see what's going on! It's not like there are rules that say we can't, Kaede just said to not push too hard. Plus, if those stuffy nosed owners have a problem with me talking to them, then oh well for them."

"Rin I will not let you get fired because you care too much about others." When she didn't respond, Sesshoumaru only sighed. "If worse comes to worse, I'm sure the camp won't mind if you but in a little."

"I guess...I'll give it three days. If things aren't back to normal, then I'm stepping in." Rin said softly, taking one more glance backwards.

"Stop being stupid!" Inuyasha only crossed his arms at Miroku's remark, showing his obvious stubbornness.

"How am I being stupid Miroku? Tell me that." Inuyasha replied, glaring at his friend. Miroku grabbed a fistful of Inuyasha's hair, yanking him towards himself. When Inuyasha yelped and tried to pull away, Miroku pointed to the seats in front of him.

"Because if you do, then what will happen to her?" Miroku whispered, instantly calming the squirming boy. His gaze felt heavy as he stared at the girl in front of him, knowing well what his decision would endanger.

"If I don't stop whoever is doing this now, then when Miroku? When will they stop?" He finally tore himself away from Miroku, staring out the window. "She almost died out there; this is the third time she's been in danger."

"And I know that, but you can't just go after people when you don't even know who they are."

"Look at our evidence. Kouga went out at the same time that I was supposed to meet Kagome. He came back well over an hour, what else could he be doing? He's never around when something goes on. Even with the knife, he was one of the last ones to leave the kitchen. He could have easily slipped the knife in there while we weren't looking."

"Do you really think that he would attack Kagome? If he likes her as much as he states, then he'd never hurt her."

"Unless she refused to be with him. That deluded kid still thinks that she likes me, and if she won't go with him, then maybe he figures he has to get rid of Kagome." Miroku slid his hand across his forehead, trying to take in all the information.

"But what about the notes? If this really was him, the note is still red. You even said yourself that he hates the color."

"Maybe that's why he hates it so much. It's the only reason we took him out of the suspect list to begin with. What if he made the huge scene to prove that he detests the color, and then uses it to make sure nobody else would think it's him."

"That may be true, but there's just one more thing that doesn't fit." Inuyasha blinked, staring at him friend as he continued. "How did he find out about you? If he was the attacker, and he really did want to hurt Kagome, wouldn't he have just attacked her the same way he did Kikyo? This person is far too smart to be Kouga; he knows our moves before we even think of them. Besides, I have a feeling I know why Kouga had to leave that night, and why we never can catch him around us when something happens."

"Well then tell me, but I still think it's him." Inuyasha replied, watching the camp come into sight. The day was slowly sinking into the late afternoon just as the bus pulled into the camp.

"I'll tell you when I'm sure; it's only a hunch right now. Make sure that when we get off the bus, we get a chance to talk to Kouga alone Oka? I'll do the rest from there, and I bet I'll take him off your suspect list very easily." Just as Inuyasha nodded, Rin popped out from her seat.

"Hey groups! Now we're sorry about the shortened trip, but we hope that you all had a fun time while you were there. Now group seven, I suggest you go see your counselor to see what she wants to do with you. As for the others, we have decided that you can have the day off. Please inform your advisor if you plan to go anywhere other than the cabins, and the curfews are still in affect."

As Rin finished the short speech, the kids quickly pushed their way out of the bus. Once on sturdy ground, Sango glanced back at her friend, who seemed to be the last to leave the bus. She tried to contain her sigh when her friend only grabbed her bags from the bus, slowly pulling them towards their cabin.

"Kagome, you can't just stop talking, that won't make it go away." Sango followed her friend, holding her bag tightly on her shoulder. "What happened at the mountain wasn't anyone's fault." Kagome only glared at her friend before walking faster. As Sango tried to reason with her stubborn friend, deep blue eyes watched her before switched their attention to Inuyasha.

"What's wrong with you?" Miroku asked, leaning against the bus.

"Naraku and Gatenmaru are both talking to Kouga. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you?" Inuyasha replied, pulling his bags out of the bus' side. Miroku shrugged before pushing away from the bus, slightly smirking.

"You're just mad about that because you think Kouga's the one whose been trying to hurt Kagome."

"So what, you're saying that's not a good reason?" Inuyasha snapped.

"Look, let's just go talk to Kouga. I'm sure he'll have some answers you're going to need to accept." Miroku didn't wait for a response from Inuyasha as he made his way towards the boy in question, deciding to unload later on. Slowly he pushed through the crowded area, letting his sight rest on a slightly unnerving sight.

"Don't question my request, it's an order." Naraku's voice was heavy with anger, though Kouga didn't seem to notice. Surprisingly, Gatenmaru looked nervous, keeping his hands in his pockets. Kouga on the other hand was completely calm.

"Since when do I take orders from you? I'm not your little lackey, and even if you threaten me, it doesn't mean I'll listen to you. So why don't you just go run off now and bug someone else."

"Do you realize what the consequences for your decision will be? The girl is no longer my problem, and if something just happens to hu-"

"She wasn't your 'problem' anyways. I can take care of her on my own; I don't need you and your brownnosing little friend to do my work for me." Kouga snapped, throwing both Miroku and Naraku into a state of shock. Naraku recovered quickly before sharply turning away from Kouga, glaring at Miroku.

"Well I see we have a spy." Miroku started at Naraku for a moment, trying to guess if his voice was coated with hatred or anger. He decided on both.

"I wasn't eavesdropping if that's what you're implying. I came over to talk to Kouga, but you two seem to having a very interesting argument. Anything else you want to argue about, or are you two girls done?" Miroku asked. Gatenmaru seemed to push away his anxiety as he moved in front of Naraku, coming dangerously close to Miroku.

"Do you have a problem with us talking Miroku?" Gatenmaru asked. Miroku stepped away from the boy.

"Well actually, I think that they were talking. You looked ready to bolt if I read your face right. Something you're scared of?" Miroku watched Gatenmaru's eyes narrow before he smirked.

"You know, Sango was looking exceptionally cute today. Maybe I should go help her unpack." Miroku clenched his hand for a moment before catching himself and letting it drop again. He'd never been a violent person, only when necessary.

"I don't think that's necessary, she's got Kagome for that." Both boys looked across to see Inuyasha, who was now making his way into the group. "And even if she wasn't there, I'm sure you'd be the last person on Sango's mind to help."

"Like you'd know her, you can't keep your eyes off that other girl. The one that Naraku's going to screw." Inuyasha's eyes flashed dangerously as he grabbed Gatenmaru by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Quickly glancing around, Miroku realized that the groups had slowly moved away from the area and had already headed back to their cabins, leaving the middle ground deserted. Relived that nobody else was around to notice his friend's strength, Miroku was instantly brought back to the scene in front of him when he heard Inuyasha's voice drop.

"Don't you EVER talk about her like that again, or I will rip you apart piece by piece." Inuyasha kept his bangs shrouding his eyes, making sure to hide the gold bleeding into them.

"You shouldn't attack him Inuyasha; he wasn't the one who first said it." The moment the words dripped into the air, Inuyasha's hand released Gatenmaru, who now darted away from the dangerous boy. No longer caring about the color his orbs contained, Inuyasha barred his now sharpened teeth towards Naraku.

"Where the hell did he get the idea from them?" The idea of ripping Naraku's head off was becoming more appealing to Inuyasha by the second, and reason was giving out much faster than Miroku would like.

"Simple, I told him." Naraku showed no fear of the enraged boy in front of him as he continued. "And I keep my promises as if they were life of death."

"I'll show you life or death..." Inuyasha muttered, his hands becoming tense with restraint.

"Naraku, I think you should leave now." Miroku warned, grabbing Inuyasha's arm. He almost pulled away when he heard Inuyasha's heavy growl.

"Better keep that dog on a leash." Naraku chuckled before he turned, walking away from the scene. Gatenmaru sent both teens a heated glare before trotting after Naraku. Once both boy's were gone, Inuyasha's shoulders dropped, his hands unclenching from the fists he unconsciously made.

"Just relax; Naraku was just being a hot head." Miroku said, letting go of his friend once brown swirled in Inuyasha's eyes. "You have to learn to control your anger, and I mean now."

"Don't tell me what to do." Inuyasha snapped back, still itching for a fight.

"If you don't learn how to keep yourself in check, your secret it going to slip faster than sand in an hour glass, and you'll be screwed." Miroku replied, waiting for his friend to respond. When no remark came from Inuyasha, Miroku then moved away from him in order to talk with the remaining witness.

"What's up with Inuyasha?" Kouga asked.

"He's just in a bad mood right now, nothing too bad to worry about." Miroku replied, laughing off the question. "But now that it's over, I do need to talk to you about something."

"About what?"

"I want to wait until we get to cabin to talk, or else someone might hear us. We'll meet you there in ten." Kouga could only nod as he watched Miroku walk back towards the bus.

Scene Change

"You honestly think that I'm trying to kill Kagome?" Kouga shifted on his bed as he watched Inuyasha nod.

"Every time something bad happens to her, you're never there. Whenever she gets hurt or put in danger, we can't find you." Inuyasha replied.

"So you think I'm trying to kill her now! Just because you idiots can't find me?" Kouga spontaneously snorted at the two in front of him. "You are really pathetic, I didn't touch her."

"Well then where were you all those times?" Inuyasha shot out his question.

"I don't need to tell you two anything! It's none of your business where I was or what I was doing, so just stay out of it." Kouga went to stand from his bed, only to be shoved back down by Inuyasha.

"This isn't about us, so stop your bellyaching and tell us where you were. You didn't show up all during the week after Kikyo got stabbed, you disappeared at the dance and reappeared right before we noticed how long the girls were gone, you left right before me and Miroku found the knife in the kitchen, and you left at the same time that Kagome was supposed to meet me. How is it that even when all the evidence is right in front of us, you still want me to believe that you haven't been trying to hurt her?"

"Because I said I'm not the one doing it!" Kouga's excuse was weak, and neither party felt it was suitable enough for the situation. "I have a reason for not being there, I just can't tell you it oka?"

"Well why the hell not! This is Kagome's life we're talking about, and I will not have your insecurities or whatever you were doing put her well being in danger!" Inuyasha's blood was rushing under his skin, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn't help but feel the need to raise his voice at Kouga.

"Inuyasha, stop." Inuyasha's heated gaze shot across the room to Miroku, whose face lead Inuyasha to believe he had more hidden then he said. "Kouga didn't do it, I'm sure of it now."

"How can you be sure, he hasn't even said where he was!"

"That's because he wasn't just in one place." At the comment, Miroku let himself glance over to the boy in question. "He was with someone."

"What?" Taking in the information, Inuyasha's temper dispersed. "Who?"

"...Kikyo." The room fell silent for a moment before Kouga let himself continue. "We've been going out for about a month now. We didn't want anyone to know about it, so we pretended that we hated each other to move suspicion away from us. We figured if we pretended to like other people, then nobody would find out. Obviously it didn't work if Miroku figured it out.

"Then she got attacked, and I couldn't handle seeing her at the hospital at first. That's why I didn't go with you when you all went to go see her. The week after I was able to stomach it to go. That's why you never saw me during that week; I didn't want to be there if Kikyo wasn't."

"I ran after her when she went to the pool because I wanted some time alone where we didn't have to act like we hated each other. That's the same reason why we made the plans to meet during the bon fire. We knew since you were all going to be distracted with the dance that you wouldn't notice that we had left.

"Because you were all over the place at the mountain, the only way we could see each other was at night. So we planned for midnight, not knowing about Kagome. If we had known you were supposed to meet her, we would have never gone out there." Kouga sighed at the story, feeling a strong weight lifting from her shoulders. "That's why Sango couldn't find Kikyo either. She was out meeting me."

"I...damnit!" Inuyasha felt the coldness of the invisible wall he had crushed into. I thought it was him, it made perfect sense. I thought I had this all figured this out, I thought maybe she'd be safe...

"So do you know anything that's been going on around camp that might help out?" Miroku asked. Kouga paused for a moment before sighing.

"Naraku and Gatenmaru came up to me today. They asked me if I was fast, which I am. When I answered, he asked me to do him a favor. Something about a file in the hospital that he wanted, it had a specific name. He told me the name, but I didn't want to get in trouble. That's what the fight was about."

"So you're thinking that something in the file might have to do with Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's just odd; I didn't say it had anything to do with her. All I know is that he was urgent to get it, even promised me money when we got out of the camp."

"Then we'll just have to sneak in there tonight and find out exactly what that file contains, now won't we?" Inuyasha smirked at the two shocked boys. "Neither of you have to come, I'll go get it on my own if you're worried. But a way to piss Naraku off would also be a way to piss of his little toe-licker Gatenmaru."

"I'm in." Miroku's words were short, making Inuyasha laugh.

"I knew you'd change your tune. What about you pretty boy, you in?" Kouga sent a glare Inuyasha's way before nodding.

"I'll keep watch in case someone comes, I'll make sure you have enough time to get out." Kouga replied, feeling a slight rush of adrenaline.

"Good, we'll do it at midnight." Inuyasha rolled his eyes are Miroku's statement.

"It's always midnight, next you'll be telling us to synchronize our watches."

"Well I would, but since we're flat ass broke, we don't have any to synchronize." Miroku grinned when Inuyasha smacked his own forehead. Before Inuyasha could come up with what Miroku guessed was another insult, Sango burst through the door of the cabin.

"Inuyasha, we have a problem!" She panted out, causing Inuyasha to arch his eyebrow.

"Yea we do, we need to get some locks on these doors. No privacy, even in our own cabin."

"Well they do technically have locks Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru just doesn't tru-" Kouga never got to finish his sentence when Sango but in.

"This isn't the time for jokes!" Fearing the deep chill that froze Inuyasha's spine, he listened carefully. "It's Kagome...she's leaving."

"What!" Inuyasha's shout was louder than Sango expected, causing her to jump a little.

"Kagome's leaving camp for good...its he-" Sango didn't have time to finish the explanation, Inuyasha sprinting out of the door. He wasted no time saying greetings to Rin or Sesshoumaru, who had waved as he rushed by. Feeling too many emotions to grab onto, Inuyasha quickly shoved the girl's cabin door open to reveal Kagome. The truth dumped on him like ice water when he saw the bag on her bed.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome tried not to bit her lip as she stared at Inuyasha, who now held a pained look in his eyes. She wiped her eyes quickly, reassuring herself that the tears from before had dried. She didn't need the added stress of him catching her crying.

"That's it?" He whispered, the shout from before stealing his powerful tone. Her heart clenched tighter at the lost expression that stretched across his face. "You're leaving?" She tried not to wince at his question.

"Yea...my mom's worried about me; she doesn't think it's safe if I stay here." She finally broke contact with him as she gazed back down at her suitcase.

"When?" He tried to keep his anger in check. She wasn't safe? It was dangerous? But, didn't she know he'd keep her safe? Like you've done oh so well in the past? Inuyasha tried to shut his conscious out.

"I leave the morning after fourth of July." When she finally forced out the answer, she shut her bag with a soft click, ending the conversation.

And that's where I end it because I'm TIRED! Whoa, I wrote a lot in one day. Anyways, I'm putting this on Thursday night because I'm busy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Homecoming week, what can I say? Anyways, what's in the file? What will happen with Kagome? Does Gatenmaru REALLY lick Naraku's toes ...Shivers You can find out two of the three questions soon!

Chapter 28- Don't Give up on Her!

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