A/N: To continue my previous statement, who knows? Maybe in ten years, I'll be writing those soaps on TNT! (I can see it now, golden globe awards for each of them!)

Of course, while writing soaps would be fun, it goes against my principles, since I have sworn of TV (Except for anime!) and haven't watched it (With the exception of Saturday night anime!) in about a year and a half. My main goal is to be a novelist since I encourage reading over TV.

Chapter 6: Friends Over Lovers?

They continued traveling on through the wilderness, in search of any clue of Naraku's whereabouts. Even though the first day had been uncomfortable with the silence, the next few were even worse. Kagome and Inuyasha didn't say a word to each other, taking great care not to look at one another. Whenever they tried to talk to Inuyasha, he would turn away, and everyone was fairly sure that there were always tears in the corner of Kagome's eyes.

It killed everyone, especially Sango, to see Kagome like this. It was obvious to everyone, even Inuyasha, that she needed his comfort and his love, while trying to heal the scars on her heart, but she wouldn't let him. Their tragic love affair had wounded her heart deeply, and took away all happiness that she had in life.

That ailment had been seen before, but in a different form. Inuyasha remembered when he used to be like that, when he couldn't find any joy in life, except hunting down the shards of the shikon no tama. He turned hard, and acted tough, to hide what he was truly feeling, but on the inside, it was nearly unbearable.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps his hunting of the shikon no tama was not just because he thought he needed to get stronger to earn his place in the world, but also because he thought once he was a youkai, he wouldn't have that pain anymore.

Sighing, he remembered that Kagome had been the one to cure him, with time and her trust. Wasn't it logical that he would have to the one to help her?

But she wouldn't let him. He had approached her that first night on their journey because it was killing him to see her like this. Inuyasha knew what she was suffering through, and he wanted desperately to help her through it, just to have his smiling and laughing Kagome back once again. He needed her smiles to help himself past his own wounds.

Damnit, Kagome, why do you keep pushing me away? He asked silently, glancing back at her, with longing in his eyes.

He was abruptly drawn from his thoughts when he heard a loud, resonating smack from behind him. "Houshi-sama!" Sango roared, glaring at smirking Miroku.

"I'm sorry, my dear Sango," he grinned, despite the red mark on his cheek. "But I can't help myself. Your beautiful form compelled me so, that I just had to reach out and touch it. Besides, it was getting far too quiet anyway."

The angered youkai slayer turned away, but not before giving her fiancé a fierce glare. "Won't you ever grow up?" she huffed, rolling her eyes.

"But Sango," Miroku continued speaking warmly, "You can see it as a declaration of my love for you. For I would never think of touching any other woman in this way." He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled a flushing Sango closer to him. "You are the only one for me, Sango dearest, the only woman I could ever see myself with for the rest of my life."

Sango could only continue to stare and blush, yet a twinkling entered her eyes while he continued his sweet words, though she willing to bet he had said these words before to other women before he had become engaged to her.

Unfortunately, the monk had other plans. "Sango, my love, you know that I will never look at another woman again now that I have seen you—" He was cut off by a loud smack! as Sango jerked away from him. Lost in his sweet words, she had failed to notice that his hand had been slowly snaking downward.

"I should have known better." She muttered, walking away and towards the front of their group. "You only sweet talk me when you're trying to touch me."

A lecherous grin sprouted on the monk's face. "That may be somewhat true, Sango, but you must know, none of what I said was a lie."

The blush once again covered Sango's face as she turned away, hating the effect the lecherous monk had on her. As she turned away from him, she saw Kagome look away also. But there was no mistaking the look in her friend's eyes. She had been watching the scene, silently thinking of another whom she loved as much as Sango loved Miroku.

Kagome, Sango sighed in pity, Are you ever going to be able to love freely again?


That night after it had just turned dark, they were forced to stop because they had found a hot spring. Inuyasha had protested at first, telling them they needed to keep going to find Naraku, but the girls had insisted, and finally won out when Miroku agreed wholeheartedly (there was no doubt in anyone's mind it was because he was planning to peep).

"Fine. Whatever. I don't care." Inuyasha pouted, folding his arms and sitting on the ground roughly, next to the fire that Shippou had already built. Sango and Kagome where chatting about the hot spring and how long it had been since they had seen one, but during this talk, Inuyasha noticed that Kagome glanced at him more than once, the look in her eyes that he knew so well reflecting back at him.

Soon, to Inuyasha's relief, they left for the hot spring, Kagome looking a bit happier at the prospect. Keh. What's with women and their baths anyway? He rolled his eyes. Go figure women.

The lecherous monk had a grin on his face as he watched them go. He leaned over next to Inuyasha and whispered, "Say, Inuyasha, maybe we should go check to see how the women are doing. After all, there might be some youkai out tonight, and we wouldn't want to endanger them to a threat, now would we?"

Smacking the monk upside the head, Inuyasha muttered, "The only threat here is you, you lecher."

"Hey, Inuyasha," Shippou asked, curious, "How come Miroku always wants to peep on Sango, yet you never want to peep on Kagome?"

That caused an enormous blush to sprout upon the hanyou's face. "D-d-don't compare me to that pervert!" he sputtered, his blush only growing deeper. Turning away, he growled, "Besides, Kagome would sit me to the ends of the earth if I came across them."

Miroku whispered in the kitsune's ear, "He's only saying that because he's already seen everything—and more."

"Huh? What do you mean, Miroku?" Shippou asked, his eyes opened in childlike innocence.

Before the monk had a chance to answer, Inuyasha let out a fierce growl, punching the monk hard in the jaw. "Don't ever say that again!" he warned, his eyes crackling with fury. He had thought, for the sake of Kagome, Miroku wouldn't dare bring that up. However, he had underestimated the monk's dirty mind once again.

While Miroku rubbed his sore jaw, Inuyasha felt a sharp prick on his nose. "Hey!" he yelled, smacking his nose. As he pulled his hand away, he saw a slightly squashed Myouga the flea.

"What the hell are you doing here, flea?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes narrowing. "Come to warn me about something you heard again?"

Popping back to his full size, the flea youkai said, "Inuyasha-sama! How good to see you after so long!"

The hanyou snorted. It wasn't exactly good for him. "Yeah, yeah, what do you want?"

Myouga took a minute to look back upon his master before saying, "I came to tell you of something I had just recently learned, that might concern you. Apparently, just recently, there was a great disturbance in the Musashi region with a powerful youkai."

"Naraku?" Inuyasha asked, now interested. "What else did you hear?"

The flea sighed, sitting down on his palm. "I don't know, much else, Inuyasha-sama. Youkai had began fleeing this place months before it actually appeared. All I do know is that the great youki suddenly disappeared three months ago, and hasn't returned since."

The camp suddenly got very quiet as everyone heard what Myouga had last said. Th-three months? Inuyasha thought, his heart clenching and his eyes widening in realization. Those frightful red eyes popped up in his mind again, accompanied by a fierce snarl.

Myouga continued, oblivious to the looks of horror from the group. "Which reminds me, Inuyasha-sama, your blood, though faintly, tasted like that of a youkai. Did you happen to transform recently?"

The snarling filled Inuyasha's mind, along with the screams of the humans begging for mercy. The smell of blood was so strong that it caused him to feel nauseated, the taste of it was in his mouth. His claws ripped through flesh, spattering blood all over him, and the last thing he saw was Kagome, her face looking up at him terrified, screaming, "Inuyasha!"—

Inuyasha clamped his eyes shut against the painful memories, crushing Myouga in his fist in the process. He flicked the flea hearing the tiny youkai scream, Inuyasha keeping his eyes tightly shut as he turned around and walked away, off to somewhere else where he could get some peace.

Shippou caught Myouga in his hands, and the flea asked wearily, "What did I say?"

Sighing, Miroku explained, "Inuyasha's been troubled lately. It's best not to bring that up." He quickly gave a brief narrative over what had happened in the past four months, making Myouga gasp every time the story got worse.

"You mean Inuyasha-sama actually…and Kagome-sama had to…" he said, covering his eyes in horror, unable to continue any further.

Shippou nodded. "That's why it's best not to bring it up around them. Inuyasha and Kagome still haven't gotten over it."

Sighing, Myouga the flea collapsed into a sitting position on a log next to them, saying, "And the curse reappearing, after all these years, I had completely forgotten about it."

Miroku stared, "You knew about it?"

"Of course I knew about it!" Myouga said. "I have known Inuyasha-sama since I found him after his mother died. I learned about the curse shortly after it was enacted, but I never thought I would actually have to worry about it. At that time, Inuyasha cared little for humans, caught up in his quest to become a full-youkai. By the time I should have started worrying, I had completely forgotten. A century is a long time, even for youkai."

"Myouga-sama," Miroku asked, "If you know something about the curse, then do you know how to remove it?"

The flea replied sadly, "No, unfortunately I do not." Glancing back at Inuyasha, who was sitting in a tree, who was pretending not to hear them, he continued. "But, perhaps it is best that the curse still remains as of yet. I know Inuyasha-sama, and I also know that if he is planning to defeat Naraku, he needs to focus more on that then anything else right now. Once Naraku is defeated, then, I think, we should start to worry about it."

Miroku and Shippou nodded in agreement.

The hanyou, who was sitting in a tree, looking at the waxing moon, had heard everything they had said, due to his hanyou hearing. He gave a small snort. Garbage. What right do they have to judge me?

And why does everyone keep telling me that? 'Focus on Naraku and worry about Kagome later.', treating me like some naughty kid! Who do they think I am, anyway, that lecher?

His ears swiveled behind him as he slightly picked up the sounds of Kagome and Sango talking. He couldn't make out the words, but it was obvious that Kagome was sad about something, making Inuyasha' heart sink as he knew it was his fault for her suffering.

I don't want this curse removed—if its even there—just because of what I want, but because I can't stand Kagome not smiling or laughing anymore. I just want to see her happy again…

Looking towards the moon, with determination in his amber eyes, Inuyasha silently vowed, Kagome, I would go to the ends of the earth if it meant you would smile again.


Kagome sighed as she sat in the hot spring, content after having missed it since they left the village. Sango seemed to be thinking the same thing, and she murmured, "Just like old times…"

"What?" Kagome asked, not understanding.

Smiling, Sango explained, "I meant its just like before, when we used to go after Naraku, Kagome-chan. A day of traveling and then a bath in a hot spring at night. You get used to it. Sometimes, it even feels weird if we stay in a village for too long."

Forcing a smile on to her face, Kagome replied, "Yeah, just like old times, I suppose. I admit, I was starting to miss it."

The youkai exterminator leaned back in the water, staring up at the starry sky. "Though, I sometimes wonder if this is ever going to end, or if we're just going to spend the rest of our lives searching for Naraku."

"I hope not, Sango-chan," Kagome replied, winking. "Because you promised Miroku-sama that you'd marry him after you defeated Naraku, and that is one wedding I don't want to miss."

A grin come to Sango's face at the prospect, "I suppose that's true."

Suddenly, Kagome shuddered, standing up, rubbing her back and cringing in pain. "Kagome-chan?" her friend asked, worried.

"It's nothing." Kagome assured her, feeling the pain start to lessen. "My back's just a little stiff, that's all. I probably should drink a bit of the pain killer, though." As she turned to grab her backpack, one hand still on her back, Sango's breath caught in her throat as she looked upon the five jagged claw marks in Kagome's skin.

Sango put a hand to her own back, knowing that the scar from when Kohaku was possessed still remained there, yet it did not cause her pain like Kagome's. She had always assumed it was because Kagome's scar was made by a full blooded youkai, and would increase the effects of pain.

That's not only how it causes her pain, she thought, watching Kagome sip her medicine. It may also be because it's causing her internal pain, knowing that Inuyasha was the one to do it. It now made her turmoil seem insignificant in comparison. Her brother had died, and had become possessed by Naraku, only recently returning to his former state of mind, yet Sango knew if the same thing that happened to Kagome and Inuyasha happened to her and Miroku, she wouldn't be able to handle it the way Kagome was.

Itsaddened her, seeing how Kagome reacted around Inuyasha now. She was trying to push him away, clear to everyone because she was afraid of the curse igniting again. It was heart-wrenching, seeing all she and Inuyasha were going through, for the sake of everyone else. And Sango remembered what she had seen a few nights ago, when Kagome returned from her talk with Inuyasha, with tears in her eyes, looking sadder than ever.

"Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, just as Kagome slid back down into the water.

"What?" she asked, wondering at the look of pity on Sango's face.

After a brief pause, Sango replied, "What exactly happened between you and Inuyasha a couple nights ago? You looked so sad."

Kagome sighed, her heart sinking at the memory. That terrible memory of telling Inuyasha she couldn't have him help her because she was afraid of the repercussions. Every time Kagome thought over her relationship between her and Inuyasha, she would remember the painful memories of three months before, which refused to let her out of their grasp.

Looking down unto the bubbling water, Kagome replied, "We just…had a little disagreement, is all."

Sango was able to see through that right away. "Kagome-chan, are you still pushing Inuyasha away from you?"

Kagome's breath caught in her throat as she asked, "H-how do you…?"

"Everyone can tell, Kagome." Sango told her. "We know what you're going through, but do you really have to do that to him? He's just trying to help you."

Kagome sunk deeper into the water. "I know, Sango-chan. But…" she bit her lip against the painful memories, her eyes turning fearful. "I'm afraid that…if I give in, just a little bit…that Inuyasha might—" She stopped and hugged herself across her chest, shaking in fear. During this, her hair fell forward, revealing the oval shaped scar on her shoulder.

"Kagome-chan," Sango said softly. "I know what you're afraid of, but maybe you should let Inuyasha help you. I know…because sometimes when I'm thinking of Kohaku…and father, and the others, Houshi-sama's the only one who helps me."

Tears formed in Kagome's eyes. "But that's just it, Sango-chan! I know I need Inuyasha…I want him to help me, but I'm so afraid…I don't want to kill him again." She whispered the last sentence, her voice shaking. "I don't want to have to—" She stopped, unable to say anymore.

"You don't have to go that far." Sango told her, coming closer to her friend who now had small tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. "But just let him help you, as a friend. You need him to be strong for you, I can tell." She paused. "And he needs you as well."

Her brown eyes full of unshed tears, Kagome looked at Sango, a tear rolling down her cheek as she replied, "Sango-chan…after all we've been through, do you really think we can go back to being friends? I'm…I'm connected to him deeper than any friendship." She whispered, her eyes on the mating scar on her palm. "I don't know if we can be friends after that…not when I can tell in his eyes, that he wants more."

All was silent after that. Kagome wiped her tears away, but still shook with fear at the memories she held within her breast. "Kagome-chan," Sango replied, placing a supporting hand on Kagome's shoulder. "I know how hard it is for you, but listen to me. You need Inuyasha more than you realize. If you don't let him help you, then you'll fall deeper into despair, and it will kill you every day trying to live."

"How do you know?" Kagome asked, her voice still shaking after her crying.

A small smile came upon Sango's face. "I know because I've lived through it. And Houshi-sama was the one that saved me." With that she got up, and walked out of the hot spring towards their clothes, leaving Kagome watching, wondering over what she had said.

Is it true? Kagome asked herself. Can I really let Inuyasha help me after what happened?

She glanced at the scar on her left palm, gently tracing it with her finger. Can we truly be friends over lovers?


A/N: Happier then most chapters, I suppose. More like foreshadowing.

The last chapter is gonna be…interesting. You definitely want to see it. (Fluff lovers might get a small bit of happiness too!)